Inherited Will
by Okfjk96
Summary: At age 14, Monkey D. Luffy is certain that he's ready to follow Ace on his own adventure. Then a massive tragedy shakes the rubber boy to his core, leading him to question everything he had believed in. His only option now is to become stronger than ever before to protect the ones he loves. Stronger, darker Luffy. LuffyxNami eventually. M for any cursing and other explicit content.
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone, what's up? I've never done anything like this before, but after reading so many promising stories get abandoned right when I became attached to them I was starting to get frustrated. So, I figured I'd try it out for myself rather than complain!

This first chapter is pretty dark, and I don't want to give the impression that this story is going to totally go against the spirit of One Piece itself. I do want a story with a stronger, slightly more damaged Luffy though – he'll be his happy-go-lucky self most of the time, but those emotions will always be lurking under the surface. I figured I had to have something serious cause that in order to make the change meaningful, and this first chapter is the idea I had which inspired me to create this story in the first place.

As a newbie, any advice or comments you have to offer me would be much appreciated. Ideas about story direction are great too! I have the general story arc already mapped out, and I'm 100% locked in on the Luffy-Nami pairing. Beyond that, I'm happy to listen to your ideas and give credit if I like/use them!

Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy Inherited Will!

 _I don't own One Piece, unfortunately_

* * *

Chapter 1

 _It started as a normal day in the sleepy Foosha Village. Removed from the hustle and bustle of the larger Goa Kingdom, residents of the small fishing town calmly went about their daily routines. Even for an East Blue settlement Foosha was remarkably quiet, and while this sometimes bored the children their parents were quite content. They considered themselves quite lucky they weren't forced to raise a family in one of the stronger Blues, let alone the Grand Line. Ever since the beginning of the Great Pirate Era, most of the world had become quite dangerous for the average citizen._

 _Indeed, the residents of Foosha could only remember coming into contact with a single pirate crew, some seven years ago now. The group has since gained infamy on both sides of the Red Line, but outside of a scuffle with some mountain bandits did little to disturb the peace besides loudly partying late into the night. The captain of that crew, a thin man with dark-red hair known only as Shanks, brightened the day of even the most suspicious villagers with his jovial nature and (mostly) honorable behavior._

 _Shanks and his crew were well-liked throughout Foosha, and many were sad to see them depart when the time came for the crew to search for new adventures. However, two people were affected more than any others by the departure of the great pirates. One was a young boy who dreamed of being a pirate despite not knowing how to swim; the other, a young barkeep who served as a surrogate mother for the young child. Both were drawn in by the captain's easy charm, and had their lives irrevocably changed as a result._

 _The boy received both the power and the inherited will necessary to not only fulfill his dreams, but to one day change the world forever. As for the woman? Her relationship with the great pirate may have produced something even more important._

 _And so our story begins…_

* * *

Monkey D. Luffy raced down the road, a large grin plastered on his face. _'I can't wait to see Makino! Hopefully she has lots of meat ready!"_ the young boy thought to himself as he continued on his sprint.

The 14-year-old hadn't been able to see Makino as much as he would have liked recently. Ever since he moved in with Dadan and the mountain bandits, it was rare for him to journey too far outside of the mountains. The bond he had formed with his adopted brothers, Ace and Sabo, kept him attached to their side at all times, whether that meant hunting giant beasts, playing pirates in their secret hideout or scrounging for parts in Grey Terminal. Even after Sabo's tragic death, a memory that made Luffy's blood turn cold whenever it resurfaced from his repressed thoughts, Ace and Luffy continued their adventures from dawn to dusk.

Luffy wasn't the type to have any regrets about the way he spent his time, unless he happened to go more than an hour without eating. He had a bit of a selfish streak, and usually did whatever he wanted to at that moment, his actions' effect on the wider world be damned. However, he felt a twinge of regret at not making more of an effort to see Makino in the past seven years. The young woman had served as a surrogate mother to him, and Luffy always loved to see her bright smile light up her bar when he would barge in. Not to mention she was a fantastic cook!

' _Now that Ace is gone on his journey, I should have a lot more time to come and visit her."_ Ace had left alone a few days earlier, fulfilling his promise to their lost brother of setting off on an adventure at age 17. Luffy was excited for his brother but longed to be next to him in that dinghy. What was he going to do for the next three years? He was already stronger than any animal in the jungle, and he was fully confident in his ability to control his gum-gum powers.

' _I really should have made Ace take me with him, I'm strong enough where he doesn't need to protect me now! What if someone finds the One Piece while I'm stuck here waiting…'_ Luffy started to pout before a familiar face quickly brought a grin back to his face.

"Mayor Woop Slap! Long time no see!" Luffy approached the old man who had been muttering to himself while staring out to sea. "Whatcha' looking at?"

The mayor was startled, but quickly regained his annoyed countenance upon recognizing the boy. "Oh, it's just you Luffy. Hasn't anyone taught you it's rude to sneak up on an old man!? What exactly do those damn mountain bandits teach you up there?"

His finger buried deeply in his nose, Luffy just shrugged. "They don't teach me anything. That old hag Dadan just yells at me when I try to eat her food."

"Figures," muttered Woop Slap. "Have you at least gotten that crazy idea of being a pirate out of your head? I don't want you bring shame to our town!"

"Nope, never! Shishishi," Luffy replied with a wide smile.

Woop Slap could only sigh. "I don't know why I even bother with you, boy. Maybe your Grandpa will be able to finally knock some sense into you."

"Grandpa!?" Luffy exclaimed. "Gramps is here? Since when?"

"That's why I was looking out to sea boy, I caught sight of the marine flags on the horizon a little while ago," Woop Slap said as he gestured towards the docks. "Although there are far more boats coming than your Grandpa normally brings. What could that old coot Garp be up to?"

"Beats me," replied Luffy, "I just hope I don't get double love punches now that Ace isn't here to get half his attention."

"Well, as the mayor I need to go down and find out. Come with me boy, Makino was asking about you earlier anyway."

"Great!" Luffy exclaimed as the two began to walk towards port, "I was already on my way to see her!"

The two maintained an equal pace for a few minutes, Woop Slap frowning and Luffy giggling all the way. Slowly, Woop Slap's look of annoyance turned to one of confusion. Just that morning Foosha Village had been bustling with its normal level of activity, with residents chatting outside their houses and perusing shops to complete their daily chores. Now, he and Luffy were alone on the road, and an eerie silence had enveloped the area.

"Something's off here," Woop Slap grumbled, "where has everyone run off to?"

There was no answer from Luffy though, as he had started to race ahead. "Mayor, look! There's Makino's bar! There's a whole big crowd surrounding it. I think I see some Marine coats too."

' _Figures, that Garp can't help himself with a crowd. He better not be punching through any buildings this time, or I'll definitely be sending him the bill. Marine privileges my ass!'_ Woop Slap angrily thought as he quickened his pace to try and keep up with the rubber boy.

Luffy shortly reached the edge of the large crowd and began shouting out to people as he passed. "Hey, any chance you've seen Makino? How about Gramps? All this searching has made me really hungry…" Luffy's infectious energy was normally beloved by the villagers, but today all of his questions fell on deaf ears. The villagers acted like he wasn't there at all, continuing to stare ahead with blank faces.

"Everyone's acting like real jerks today," Luffy complained, "I wonder…"

{SMACK} "ENOUGH, WHORE!"

Luffy's train of thought was interrupted by the loud crash and gruff voice, a voice that sent chills down his spine. Luffy's battle instincts flared up, recognizing the direct threat of an enemy. Every part of his being was telling him that the owner of that voice was more trouble than any beast he had come across in the jungle. Gripping his right wrist tightly and preparing for a fight, Luffy leapt into the center of the scrum.

"Alright, just what the hell is going on – MAKINO!?" Luffy could do nothing but gape at the beautiful green haired woman, the closest person to a mother he had ever known, sprawled across the ground, her hands shielding her bloodied face.

A hulking man wearing a Marine Officer's jacket, with "Absolute Justice" written across the back, towered over Makino, while hundreds of his subordinates stood by with weapons at the ready. The man had a floral tropical shirt underneath his uniform, an outfit choice in stark contrast to the intense hatred burning within his dark eyes. The Officer's figure loomed so large that two men standing on top of one another would be unable to look him in the eye; his enormous muscles bulged menacingly against his jacket, reminding Luffy of his grandpa's powerful figure.

"I've had enough of your games, girl," the Marine growled, "do not try and stand in the way of the World Government's justice. We Marines exist to protect the world from scum like you."

Makino coughed up some more blood as she struggled to her knees. "I already told you, I have no idea what you're talking about," she managed to whisper, tears streaming down her face, "I barely know the man you mentioned."

"LIAR!" the man roared before delivering a swift kick to the woman's midsection that sent her tumbling into the wall of her bar. "We already know that bastard Red-Hair occupied this town for nearly a year, you cannot mislead us. Admit the true nature of your relationship or face immediate judgement for your crimes."

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT WITH SHANKS!?" As the Marine turned towards the source of the shout, his eyes widened in surprise as a fist sprang at him from several yards away. "AND KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF MAKINO!"

The rubber fist impacted the man's jaw, jerking his head to the side. An infuriated Luffy leapt in front of the prone Makino, ready for battle as his arm retracted back to his body with a snap. The surrounding villagers and marines could only react with shock.

"That idiot boy just struck Admiral Akainu!"

"What has Luffy done!? He can't go attack such an important World Government official like that!"

"That kid has a death wish, but I wish I had the same courage to stand up for Makino…"

The murmuring crowd was then silenced by a low laugh. The man revealed to be Marine Admiral Akainu turned his head back to his attacker with a smirk. "You caught me off guard, boy. I didn't figure I'd have to pay attention to my Observation Haki in the weakest of the Blues. And a Devil Fruit user no less!" Akainu's expression quickly hardened. "But now that you have my attention, I'm going to have to kill you."

"Try me," Luffy snarled, "I'm not scared of you ya' bastard! Gum-gum pistol!" Luffy's fist once again raced towards its target, its aim true after countless hours of training with his brothers to perfect his technique. As the attack was moments from impact, Luffy roared, "NO ONE HURTS MY FRIENDS!"

Akainu could see the attack coming this time, but he made no move to dodge. At the last second, his own hand flashed in front of his face, grabbing Luffy's fist and stopping its momentum dead.

Luffy struggled viciously against the Admiral's grip, but it felt as though he was stuck in cement. "Let go you jerk, fight fair!"

"The only thing truly fair in this world is justice, boy" Akainu simply stated. Suddenly, his arm began to glow with a dark-red hue. The villagers began to feel as if they had been thrown into an oven; everyone began to sweat profusely, and some of the elderly even passed out from the sudden shift in temperature. The marine grunts were used to displays of the Admiral's power, but even they began to look uncomfortable as the heat became more oppressive.

"What the hell do you think you're…" Luffy's sentence died in his mouth as he could feel the skin on his right forearm begin to bubble. "AHHHHHH! AHHHHHH!" Luffy was reduced to shrieking in an unholy combination of pain and terror as he flopped across the dirt, as his hand slowly began to melt.

"No one is allowed to spit in the face of justice and survive, not even a child," intoned Akainu as the glow from his lava-like arm began to shine brighter still. The villagers watched in horror, wanting to help the poor boy but trapped in place by the all-consuming fear of drawing Akainu's ire. The marines remained stoic, as though this scene was not an unusual occurrence for them.

With Luffy's arm still trapped within the grasp of his giant left hand, Akainu slowly raised his right arm, preparing to deliver the finishing blow. "Putting you in your place has been amusing enough, but I still have business to settle with that woman. Time to die."

The Admiral's right fist began to drip with magma, and the molten rock left deep holes in the ground wherever it fell. Luffy was so consumed by part of his body being burned alive that he was utterly defenseless; his pupils were gone, replaced by a white sheen that covered his eyes as he thrashed about on the road.

 _Akainu cocked his fist back and started to swing forward. Maybe on a different day this would have been the end of Monkey D. Luffy and his foolish dream._

 _Sometimes, fate has different plans for us._

"STOP THIS AT ONCE! THAT BOY IS THE GRANDSON OF THE MARINE HERO GARP, DON'T YOU DARE HURT HIM!"

Stunned by the interruption, Akainu halted his attack, and the entire crowd turned their attention to the small old man who had burst into the circle. Mayor Woop Slap had his hands on his knees, struggling to catch his breath. While Luffy had been able to easily leap over the crowd, the mayor had spent the past few minutes struggling to weave his way past all of the bodies. Luckily for Luffy, his timing couldn't have been better.

"Garp's grandson, eh? I had heard rumors that old fool had hidden the devil away somewhere in Goa Kingdom." Akainu finally dropped Luffy's arm from his grasp and allowed his body to return to its normal form. "So, boy, you're the wretched seed of that monster Dragon?"

The mention of that name sent a charge of electricity through the crowd, with people screaming in shock over Luffy's apparent relation to the world's most wanted criminal. Luffy himself had no reaction; while he had regained his senses, all he could do was stare at his right arm. Gone was the healthy, tan skin that covered the rest of his body. What remained would sicken even some of the most hardened guards in the lower levels of Impel Down.

Much of the muscle had been completely burned off, allowing the afternoon sun to dance along his charred bones. What tissue did remain thanks to his body's rubber properties was deeply charred, with long black streaks running from his fingertips all the way to his elbow. His hand had turned completely back, encrusted by rock after the magma had cooled in the air. The smell was perhaps the most sickening, disgustingly similar to the animal meat Luffy loved.

Woop Slap hurried over to the child. "Luffy, are you alright?" He received no response, as Luffy began to hyperventilate with the reality of the damage he suffered setting in.

"You know, it's actually fitting that I meet the son of Dragon on this trip," Akainu chuckled as he began to march towards Luffy and Woop Slap. "It fits right in with my original mission anyway. Before, I wanted to kill the boy to set an example to the rest of this village. Now, my commitment to Absolute Justice commands me to do so. I cannot allow any genes from such a vile bloodline to be spread to future generations!"

Woop Slap positioned himself between the catatonic Luffy and the walking volcano, but he couldn't stop himself from trembling in fear. Akainu continued, "And you, old man, can die as well for harboring such a dangerous criminal in your village. Not to mention allowing a highly wanted pirate crew to occupy you for a year without a single call to the Marines. These crimes cannot be left unpunished!"

Akainu was now towering over the two and raised his massive boot to deliver the final blow. Woop Slap, closed his eyes, preparing for the worst, when a small voice whispered, "please…don't hurt them…you came here for me…"

The Admiral shifted his attention to the green-haired girl who had regained consciousness and was slouching against the wall of her bar. "I'll tell you the truth…Akainu…," Makino managed in between haggard breaths, "just…leave Luffy alone…"

Woop Slap wanted to speak up, but Akainu had already turned to face his original target. Straightening his jacket, he cleared his throat and began to speak. "Makino the barkeep, did you or did you not willingly host the Red-Haired Pirates and their captain, Shanks, one of the Four Emperors of the Sea?"

"Yes"

"And did you or did you not have a close personal relationship with the Emperor Shanks?"

"…Yes"

"Makino, you don't have to do this!" Woop Slap screamed. "Don't say anything crazy!"

"That's enough out of you, geezer," a marine grunt lazily said as he rammed the butt of his rifle into the mayor's skull, "allow the Admiral to continue his questioning in peace."

Woop Slap collapsing to the ground seemed to shake Luffy out of his stupor. "Mayor, are you alright?" Luffy asked, and only then did he notice the scene that was continuing in front of him.

Akainu hadn't allowed Woop Slap to impact him at all, and his next question was dripping with contempt. "Now, whore, were you or were you not in _love_ with Red-Haired Shanks?"

"…Yes…we loved each other," Makino gasped out.

' _Love? Makino and Shanks!? What's going on?'_ Luffy thought to himself as Akainu pushed forward.

"No pirate is capable of love, you foolish girl. Regardless, did you or did you not engage in physical intimacy with Shanks?"

Woop Slap had managed to peel his face out of the dirt, and upon hearing the question he adopted a look of horror. Luffy sat with nothing but a confused expression, trying desperately to understand what was happening. His right arm was buried in the cool dirt, an attempt to dull the roaring pain so that he could think straight.

Makino let loose a quiet sob but managed to steel her will enough to look Akainu directly in the eyes. "Yes, Shanks and I made love many times. That's what people who love each other do, although I suppose you wouldn't know much about that."

A stormy look began to cloud Akainu's face, and his simmering anger cause the temperature to start to rise again. Woop Slap could only slump his shoulders in defeat, now that the secret he had vowed to help protect seven years ago had finally come out. Luffy was more lost than ever. _'I think I heard Ace and Sabo talking about making love once? But when I tried to ask they just knocked me on the head and laughed…'_

"Insolent bitch," Akainu growled, "so it turns out our intel was accurate. Then, I have one final question: did you or did you not conceive the child of Red-Haired Shanks?"

Gasps came out from the shocked villagers at the question, and Luffy immediately perked up. That, he was able to understand alright, even if he didn't know how it was possible. As his brain began to work overtime, his recognition of the pain in his arm went away. Thinking wasn't the rubber boy's forte, and he didn't have enough attention to devote to too many things at once.

"No…," Makino sighed, "we tried but never had any luck before it was time for him to set sail." Suddenly, Makino sprang to her feet, her body filled with new-found energy as her pupils burned with rage. "And what's it to you, anyways? What business do you have prying into such a painful part of my past!? WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE TO TREAT ME AND LUFFY LIKE THIS!?"

"Makino!" Luffy shouted out, and the woman turned to him with a warm smile. "Don't worry, Luffy, everything is going to be – GAHHH!"

Admiral Akainu lifted Makino from the ground by her throat, raising her over ten feet in the air. "What is my business you ask? I work on behalf of the World Government to ensure Absolute Justice in this world, and my superiors agree with me that wiping out evil bloodlines is of essential importance to that mission. Just as we destroyed any trace of the Pirate King's descendants twenty years ago, we have decided to do the same to any pirate viewed as a major threat."

Akainu drew the terrified woman close enough that she could feel the heat emanating off of him. "Whitebeard prefers adoption, Kaido lusts only for death, and Linlin is clever enough to keep her children close." A mad grin began to form on the Admiral's lips, as he said, "that leaves Red-Haired, who was foolish enough to not only bed a civilian, but to leave her entirely unprotected."

Gasping for breath, Makino managed to stutter, "but…but…we never had children! I told you the truth!"

"Am I really supposed to accept the words of a pirate whore?" Akainu scoffed. "Besides, even if by some chance you are telling the truth, you two could always get together again to try and finish the job. I can't allow that."

Tears started to stream down the faces of the older villagers, as they finally accepted what they had known all along, where this encounter had been leading to from the start. Woop Slap could do nothing but pound the road in frustration and sadness until his hands were bloodied. "Makino! I warned you of this day! I tried to protect you, but I could only do so much!" As he inhaled following his shouting, the mayor felt a strong hand grasping his shoulder. Luffy had risen to his feet, his left hand clutching Woop Slap for balance while his mangled right arm remained pressed tightly against his chest.

"Listen, you bastard," spoke Luffy with a cold determination none of the villagers had seen from the happy boy before, "I'll never let anyone hurt my friends while I'm alive, especially not Makino!" Luffy returned to a fighting stance, but this time as a southpaw, keeping his protected. "I won't lose again!"

"Enough, son of Dragon. I'll deal with you later." Akainu turned to his men and ordered, "restrain the boy and maintain the perimeter. Allow no one to interfere."

"Sir, yes sir!" came the resounding reply, as the Marine soldiers rushed in to restrain Luffy. Luffy managed to take down a few with vicious kicks, but his body was in no shape for serious fighting against fully-grown, trained men. Within a few minutes he had been pinned to the ground and was easily restrained despite his squirming. "Don't you dare hurt Makino! Fight me like a man!" Luffy screamed with impotent rage, clawing at the ground with his healthy arm like a caged animal.

"Luffy…" Makino whispered, only ably to watch as her adopted son struggled in futility. Tears again poured down her face, turning to steam as they dropped onto the Admiral's hand, still firmly gripping her neck.

"Ha! A man you say? You have some nerve to say that being such a weak little boy." Akainu waved his free hand at Luffy dismissively. "If I didn't know for sure, I'd never believe that you were related to Garp and that bastard Dragon. How could someone from that bloodline possibly be so weak?"

Those words cut deep into Luffy's soul as he redoubled his efforts to escape. "Weak!? I'm not weak you idiot! I'm the man who's going to become King of the Pirates!"

Akainu snorted out, "no, you're not. You're the boy that's going to die as soon as I'm done with this woman." Shifting his stoic glare back to Makino, he asked, "any last words?"

"NO! MAKINO!" Luffy's wails became louder and louder, tears and snot now both flowing freely across his face. The villagers could only look on with tears of their own, clutching their loved ones in an attempt to find any salvation from the terrible scene before them. They knew the end was near.

Makino did as well, and yet she managed to compose herself. "Yes, I do," she replied, then struggled to shift in the Admirals grip enough to face Luffy. "Luffy, sweet boy, please look at me."

Luffy craned his neck upwards, his face bright red and his sacred straw hat crushed under the knee of some marine soldier. Gone was the image of a brave warrior standing up for his home. Reading Luffy's face, all that was left was the scared 14-year-old he really was. ' _If only Ace was here, we could have done something! We could have protected Makino, and he could have protected me!'_ Luffy thought as the sobs racked his body.

Makino's own eyes again filled with tears as she looked down at her beloved Luffy, picturing the child who had been so sad to see his mentor Shanks leave. _'And yet,'_ she remembered, _'by the end he had managed to turn Luffy's crying into tears of joy. Shanks was always good at that, knowing just the right thing to say…'_

"Luffy, listen to me!" Makino cried out. "None of this is your fault! Shanks and I made a decision as two people who loved each other, and we both understood the consequences. I knew this moment might come one day, and I accepted that risk!" Makino gasped as Akainu suddenly tightened his grip

"Your time is running out, girl. Do not try my patience."

Makino managed to collect her breath and continue, "Luffy…I have always loved you like a son. I will never be able to rest peacefully if I was the reason you had to abandon your dream!"

"Don't talk like that, Makino!" Luffy exclaimed through his weeping. "Don't you dare give up!"

But the woman pushed forward undeterred. "Luffy, you need to make me a promise, just like the one you made with Shanks. You need to promise me that you won't ever give up on your dream! That you'll do whatever it takes to become strong enough to protect yourself and all of the new friends you make on your journey! That you'll push forward no matter what happens!"

"But Makino…"

"No buts, Luffy! PROMISE ME!"

Her shout was so filled with emotion, it felt as though the entire world stood still for a few moments. The entire island went silent, and even Akainu's eyes widened in surprise at the powerful energy he could feel from this frail woman's will. _'So this is why you chose her, Red-Haired…'_ the Admiral mused to himself.

Luffy was left with a slack jaw from her outburst, but he managed to recover enough to give her a small nod through his sniffling. "OK Makino…I promise…"

Luffy's words seemingly evaporated the tears from Makino's face. She looked so happy, in fact, that Luffy could almost imagine another universe where he ran down to the bar that day and found her behind the counter, excited to greet him. "That's wonderful, Luffy," she said with an angelic smile, "now I can die happy!"

"NO, MAKINO!" Luffy lurched up with a strength he didn't know he had, tossing the dozen guards who had been restraining him into the air and –

{SNAP}

 _A sickening noise reverberated across the crowd, across the island, across the whole East Blue, and maybe even to the Grand Line itself. Makino the barkeep hung limply in Admiral Akainu's grip. And even though it was clear to everyone there that she had passed, a wisp of a smile still seemed to haunt her lips._

Wails erupted from the crowd, and even a few of the marine soldiers lowered their heads, but Luffy didn't notice any of that. He fell to his knees, his eyes glazing over only moments after containing such intense emotion. He made no move to attack, to run, or to even grieve. He was spiritually broken.

"Dispose of the body," Akainu ordered as he allowed Makino to slump to the ground. "It's time for me to deal with the son of Dragon now."

The Admiral went to take a step forward, until one of his soldiers jumped in his path.

"Sorry to interrupt, sir, but you have an urgent call on the Transponder Snail! It's Fleet Admiral Sengoku, sir." The grunt handed Akainu the snail and quickly retreated back to his comrades. Akainu shook his head in disgust, annoyed at having to deal with bureaucracy in the middle of his mission. He relented, though, and accepted the call. "Yes sir, how can I help you?"

"Sakazuki, give me a mission status report," replied the voice on the other side of the line.

"Sir, we have located Shanks's whore in the East Blue and disposed of her properly. She denied having a child with the bastard, but I believe that following further questioning of the civilians…"

"Enough, Sakazuki," Sengoku interjected, "I'm certain that you have done plenty already. Return to Marineford immediately for a debriefing."

"But sir, I…"

"That is a direct order, Admiral. This whole escapade already makes me sick, I won't have you torturing innocents for information on top of that."

"Sir, with all due respect, no collateral damage is too great in the pursuit of Absolute Justice."

"I'm well aware you feel that way, but I do not. Return to base at once or I will force you to answer for insubordination."

"…Understood, sir. However, during the course of my mission I did come across the son of Dragon, Monkey D. Luffy. His profile fits the mission plan set forth by the Celestial Dragons. I was planning on disposing of him and…"

"Garp's grandson!?" Sengoku shouted. "You found him? Don't touch a hair on that boy's head, Admiral!"

"A little late for that, sir. He also directly attacked me as I tried to carry out my mission. I see no viable alternative to executing him for his current and future crimes."

"Future crimes!? Jesus, Sakazuki, he's just a boy. Garp is training him to be a Marine! Leave now before you do any more damage, or I won't be able to stop that old fool from ringing your neck. Am I understood?"

The air itself turned red in Foosha Village from Akainu's rage, and the Transponder Snail started to cook in his hand as Akainu glared daggers into the man he pictured sitting behind his desk thousands of miles away. _'This weak idiot has never had the stomach to do what is necessary for justice,'_ Akainu thought to himself. But instead of saying that, Akainu took a deep breath and simply replied, "yes, sir." A click came from the other end of the line, and Akainu whipped the half-finished escargot towards his troops. "Men, prepare to set sail! We're getting out of this pitiful ocean." Akainu began walking towards his ship, pausing a second to glance back over his shoulder. "It's your lucky day, boy! Fate has conspired to protect you from my judgement. Just know, your Grandfather can't protect you forever. I know you have evil blood, and one day when you start to act on those genetics I'll be there to put down. Just like I put down your two friends today."

Luffy was still in shock, but the last line seemed to catch his attention. "Two?" Luffy mumbled, "what do you mean two?"

Akainu sneered. "That's right, thank you for reminding me. One criminal is still unpunished." Then, in one fluid motion he retrieved his pistol from its holster and fired, causing Luffy to flinch instinctively despite his rubber body.

"That shot wasn't for you, boy." With that, Akainu turned again and did not look back.

Luffy looked at the departing Admiral in confusion, only for a loud thud to draw his attention down to his left. There was Mayor Woop Slap, right where he had been earlier to help Luffy to his feet. Only now, there was a bullet would in the center of his chest. The townspeople reacted in agony, and many rushed to the fallen mayor to attempt to revive him. Luffy made no such move, nor did he say anything. All he could do was turn his head back and forth between the bodies of Makino and the mayor.

 _Makino. Mayor. Makino. Mayor. Mayor. Makino. His friends. Dead. He couldn't do anything. Dead. Like Sabo. Dead._

Suddenly, the pain from his injured arm flared up again. The pain was all-consuming, and this time Luffy had no real interest in fighting it. He succumbed to his body's desires and collapsed.

* * *

 _Despite the villagers' best efforts, they were unable to save Mayor Woop Slap. They buried him in a grave on a hill overlooking Foosha Village, so he could keep a watchful eye over all of the people he lived to protect. The Marines had taken Makino with them, but the villagers mourned her loss all the same. A candlelight vigil was held outside her bar, allowing everyone to reminisce on how the sweet girl had impacted their lives._

 _As for Luffy, Akainu made sure to warn the villagers while leaving that anyone who helped the boy would be considered traitors to the World Government. Reluctantly, the villagers left him lying in the middle of the road, where he remained unconscious for hours. By the next morning, however, he was gone. There were some reports from people leaving the vigil that a large woman with orange hair grabbed Luffy and ran off into the woods, but no one could say for sure._

 _Two weeks later, the Marine Hero Garp arrived at Foosha Village._

Vice Admiral Garp trudged to the top of the hill, brushing the blood from his face as he ascended.

He was alone, having ordered his crew to stay with the ship while he conducted his business on the island. The Marines didn't really mind, since Garp always went off on these strange trips once or twice a year. However, when they entered into town to relax, the normally cordial townsfolk treated them with disdain. Pedestrians hurried back to their homes, and shop keeps guarded the entrances to their stores with makeshift weapons. Even the bar they loved to visit whenever they came by, with the kind young owner, looked to be abandoned. Disappointed, the Marines sulked back to their ship to await the return of their leader.

' _That damn Dadan,'_ Garp thought to himself as he spit out a loose tooth, _'the woman nearly killed me. Doesn't she understand I have nothing to do with this!?"_

Indeed, the mountain bandits had not been very willing to listen to Garp's explanations when he arrived at their compound. The petty criminals would normally react in complete terror whenever Garp came by to check on his boys. Now, all of them looked on disgust, their fear replaced with righteous anger.

Dadan herself had been the most unforgiving. ' _Garp, you son of a bitch! Do you know what that mad dog did to poor Luffy? He killed poor Makino and Woop Slap right in front of the boy! He boiled him alive! No one is more caring than that stupid kid, and his spirit has been crushed! He hasn't eaten in days!'_

"That last bit is probably the most concerning," Garp grumbled. Dadan's words had been more painful for the old man to endure than any fists, but she had sure tried to prove that wrong. Garp's face looked like he had spent the night boxing with Kaido.

' _Should I even be here? What the hell am I supposed to say to Luffy? Nothing I can do will make this right…'_ Garp's internal monologue was interrupted when he caught sight of a boy in a straw hat sitting cross-legged next to a small tombstone, gazing intently out to sea.

' _Welp, too late now.'_

Garp walked to remaining short distance in silence before he plopped down next to his grandson. Luffy gave no acknowledgement to his visitor, keeping his stare fixated on the horizon. Neither said anything for a long time.

After nearly 20 minutes of silence, the longest he had ever heard Luffy go without talking, Garp couldn't bare it any longer. "Luffy," he sighed. "I don't even know where to begin…"

"Train me."

The sudden request caught Garp completely off-guard. Although it wasn't really a request so much as it was a demand.

"Train you? What the hell are you talking about boy? There's no time for that, we have to talk about this mess with Akainu. You can't just ignore your feelings about it, Dadan says you're not even eating."

"I'm not ignoring shit." For the first time, Luffy had turned his head to face his grandpa, and Garp was stunned by the intensity in his eyes. _'Almost like I'm looking at his father,'_ Garp realized.

Luffy continued. "I made a promise to Makino that I would do whatever it takes to get stronger, so that I can protect my dream and the ones that I care about. I thought I was getting stronger fighting those stupid animals with Ace and Sabo, but I wasn't able to protect anyone!" Luffy's body tensed at that, and for the first time Garp noticed the significant damage that had been done to Luffy's arm. Some of the tissue had slowly begun to grow back, but plenty of bone still showed through, and the black streaks remained as vivid as before. Garp felt his own body tensing in anger. _'One day, I'm going to kill that lava bastard.'_

Slowly, Luffy allowed his tension to release. "I wasn't able to protect anyone, because I was weak. A weak little boy, just liked Akainu said." Suddenly, Luffy sprang to his feet. "But I can't be weak anymore! I have two promises that I need to keep now, and I'll need to be even stronger than you to hold up my end! Even stronger than _him!"_ Luffy panted from the exertion to his still weakened body, as Garp looked on with wide eyes.

"That's why I need you to train me Gramps. That's the only way I'll ever become strong enough."

Garp slowly rose to his feet. "Luffy," he started, "I told you a long time ago that I would only train you if you were going to become a Marine like your grandpa! How can I willingly give away Marine secrets to a future pirate when I'm a Vice Admiral?"

Luffy's face developed a scowl, and he assumed his fighting position. There was a momentary grimace when he gripped his damaged right hand, but he kept his focus through the pain. "Then it looks like I'm going to have to beat you up Gramps, if that's the only way…"

Luffy's triumphant speech was cut short by Garp's massive fist slamming his head into the ground. "BOY, DON'T YOU EVER DISRESPECT YOUR GRANDPA LIKE THAT AGAIN! I'LL STILL BE KICKING YOUR ASS 100 YEARS FROM NOW!" Garp looked down to continue yelling, expecting to see his grandson's whimpering face asking for mercy. Instead, Luffy was already rising back up to his feet; with shaky legs, he once again assumed his fighting stance, gasping for breath but looking as determined as ever.

Garp studied his grandson intently, before sighing and turning his head to look at the tombstone beside them. "That little mayor never liked me very much, but I could tell he was a good man. He definitely could keep you in line." Then, Garp raised his eyes to the ocean. "And Makino…as soon as I found out, I made sure she was given a proper burial at sea. She was a great girl, and she loved you very much. That damned Red-Haired won you both over."

Garp turned back to Luffy, who still showed no signs of backing down, despite the tears starting to form in his eyes. "You're really serious about this, huh Luffy?" Luffy could only nod, as he desperately fought to hold back his crying. Garp nodded as well, then continued, "I suppose I have no choice but to agree to train you then. Even if you do want to be a damned pirate, in this case I feel honor-bound to help you out." Garp paused for a second then snorted, "besides, I can't have a grandson of mine getting roughed up by some wild animal like Sakazuki. That's bad for my rep!"

Luffy's serious demeanor was replaced by the bright smile that always fit the lively 14-year-old much better. "Shishishishi! Thanks Gramps, I knew you'd come around! Just you wait, I'm gonna become more powerful than you can even imagine!"

"Bwahahaha! That's my grandson, come give your old man a hug!"

Luffy leapt into his grandpa's arms, and for a moment the two shared a truly loving embrace.

For a moment.

Suddenly, Luffy turned ghost-white as he could feel his Grandpa's hand tighten around the scruff of his neck. The old man had adopted a sick expression, causing Luffy to nervously gulp. "Now listen here, brat," Garp growled menacingly, "given the circumstances, I can probably get Sengoku to grant me two years of leave. That gives me two years to teach you everything I've learned in 73 years, and then a year for you to practice everything on your own." Garp began twirling Luffy around his head, so fast that the rubber boy's limbs started spinning out of control. "And that means we have no time to waste, so training starts NOW!" Garp punctuated his statement by releasing Luffy and sending him flying back into the jungle.

Alone on the hill, Garp turned his attention back to the ocean. _'Makino, I'm sorry. I'm going to do my best to make it up to you'_ Garp then gave the tombstone a nod, before sprinting into the woods. "Let's get started, brat!"

Luffy was there waiting for him, and the two Monkeys exchange looks that were equal parts excited and determined. "Lead the way, Gramps!"

* * *

 _Three years, and countless brawls, broken bones and injured animals later…_

Monkey D. Luffy stood confidently on his dinghy as it drifted away from shore, his straw hat safely secured to his head. The time had finally come for him to set sail on his own journey, just as Ace had done three years earlier. _'Wait until I see you next, big brother. You won't believe how much has changed since you left.'_

Luffy waved at the villagers on the docks who had stopped by to see him off. Earlier that day he had said goodbye to the mountain bandits, who all seemed pretty happy for him except for Dadan, who was struggling to call him a brat while sobbing. He had also left some new flowers in front of Woop Slap's grave. _'I know you didn't want me to be a pirate, Mayor, but I promise I'm going to make you and everyone else proud."_

Having finished his goodbyes, Luffy turned his attention back to the horizon. _'Shanks, Makino, I promise that I'll never let you guys down. I WILL become King of the Pirates, and I will fulfill my promises to you both!'_ Luffy paused for a beat before his hat's shadow shrouded is face. _'And as for you, Akainu…'_

Without warning, the seas began to bubble uncontrollably in front of Luffy's boat. A massive beast emerged from the depths, the Lord of the Cost itself; the same animal that had taken Shanks's arm a decade earlier. The beast hovered over Luffy, ready for a snack. As the villagers on the coast panicked, Luffy barely raised his head to give the creature a bemused look. "Oh, it's you, huh? I guess I still owe you a beating. Shave!"

Suddenly, Luffy had disappeared. The small sea king was perplexed, as were the worried villagers.

"Moon walk!"

Then, there was Luffy, floating in the middle of the air behind the beast's head. The Lord of the Coast tried to turn around, but it was far too late.

"Gum-Gum tempest whip!"

Luffy swung his stretched leg forward into a powerful kick, and yet was many yards away from actually hitting the creature. Nothing happened for a moment, and villagers on the shore began to sweat drop. "I thought you said he had been training with Garp in the mountains, you liar!" One man shouted at his friend. "He's got no chance of surviving out there…"

His train of thought was cut short by the Lord of the Coast's decapitated head landing next to him on the dock with a massive thud.

"Shishsishi! Enjoy lunch on me guys!" Luffy waved goodbye for a final time at the stunned onlookers before turning back to the sea, looking forward to a journey that would go on to change the world forever.

' _Akainu? I'm going to get my revenge.'_


	2. Chapter 2

Hello again!

Thanks to everyone who has read the story so far. As I mentioned before, I've never published anything for public consumption like this, so to see how many views the story has gotten in such a short period of time is amazing! Hopefully I can keep that momentum going and not blow it.

One question I got from a reviewer was about whether or not I would be expanding the crew. I can say for sure that there will be no expansion of the crew while they're still in the East Blue. I've read a lot of stories where Luffy picks up people like Gin or Nojiko, but I've never found those characters interesting enough to join up with the original five. As for the Grand Line, I'm probably 50-50 on Vivi at this point, and any other changes I'll have to consider when the time comes. While it's great to have new characters to change the crew dynamics and differentiate a story from actual One Piece, I feel like it's pretty easy to run into the problem of characters not getting the time that they deserve.

As for what happened to Luffy's arm, that should start to become a little clearer this chapter…

Keep the comments coming, and I hope you enjoy Chapter 2!

* * *

Chapter 2

Luffy was resting comfortably against the side of his little dinghy as Foosha Village became smaller and smaller on the horizon, until not even a speck of his hometown remained. It was a bright, sunny day and the current steadily pushed his boat further out to sea. Garp had tried to instill a few navigation skills in his grandson during their two years together, but Luffy found that letting the waves do all the work was much more enjoyable. _'Now that I'm officially a pirate, I can go wherever I want,'_ he thought to himself, _'that's true freedom!'_ Content with his decision, Luffy had assumed his current relaxed position.

It had been a few hours since his encounter with the Lord of the Coast, and the initial adrenaline rush that came with beginning his adventure had started to wear off. He didn't have a single new friend yet, let alone the crew of his dreams! A younger Luffy might have started to get impatient, and he definitely wouldn't have chosen to meditate in a million years. Recently, though, Luffy had gotten a lot more used to considering his own thoughts, even if he still got headaches if he spent too long doing it.

So, Luffy took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Almost instinctually, he found his left hand being drawn to the leather glove concealing his right arm. _'Even now it feels strange…'_

The glove covered his entire forearm, from the fingertips up to the elbow. The dark brown leather had been taken from the crocodiles unlucky enough to run into a Monkey family training session. It felt warm to Luffy's touch after sitting in the sunlight. _'Then again, it feels warm to me even when it's snowing,'_ Luffy reminded himself. Three large black straps stretched across the top of the glove, locking everything into place. All in all, it was a remarkably well-crafted accessory; just one that looked sorely out of place on a boy whose outfit of choice consisted of a vest, cut-off shorts and sandals.

' _I'm not sure I'll ever get used to this, but the alternative…,"_ Luffy sighed. He sat in silence for a few more minutes, rubbing the glove as the waves peacefully lapped up against the dinghy.

"Ugh! So boring! Where's the adventure!" Luffy suddenly shouted, panicking a few birds that had found a resting spot on his boat. The boy had certainly evolved, but it's impossible to change someone's true nature. "This is going so slow," Luffy grumbled, "I'm going to take a nap, and something interesting better be happening by the time I wake up!" With that, the rubber boy laid out on the bottom of the boat, yanked his straw hat over his eyes and immediately knocked out. All the while, a slight wind started to pick up, causing the dinghy to gain some speed.

* * *

 _The weather continued to worsen as Luffy drifted off to sleep, until a storm formed that wouldn't have been out of place on the Grand Line. The seas became rougher and rougher, and a mighty whirlpool soon formed. Luffy's boat was trapped in the current, but luckily enough for the aspiring pirate he was tossed from the doomed vessel when it collided with some other debris caught in the vortex. As fate would have it, one of those objects was a barrel, and the boy landed in the open end. The storm raged for hours, and yet Luffy remained sound asleep. Eventually, the waters started to calm, and the occupied barrel drifted away into the path of a cruise ship…_

A group of sailors were sunning themselves on the deck of a small cruise ship. Besides that nasty little storm they had struggled to sail through earlier, it had been another relaxing voyage. Things were always pretty relaxing in the East Blue, but none of the workers were going to complain about the easy paycheck. Many had already dozed off for an afternoon nap, while a couple tried their luck with fishing poles. Things were going so well that none of the sailors noticed a mysterious figure with bright-orange hair slip through a railing on the opposite side of the ship.

"Oy, lookie here!" One of the fisherman said as he nudged his buddy, "am I seeing things or is that a barrel floating out there?"

The second sailor leaned out and squinted to get a better look. "I think you're right! It must have fallen off some ship during the storm. I wonder what's inside?"

A third man had woken up due to his comrades' commotion and lazily pulled himself between the two. "There's no use asking stupid questions like that, how about you just grab the thing if you're so curious?"

"He's right!" The first fisherman agreed, "throw out your line and reel her in. I betcha' it's a barrel of rum!"

Delighted by the possibility of free alcohol, the second fisherman gave a mighty cast and hooked his line to the edge of the barrel. Pleased with himself, he began to pull in the prize, bragging to his buddies all the while. After a few seconds, the barrel collided with the side of the ship, and the three sailors gave the line a mighty heave to bring the cargo on deck.

"Pretty heavy for rum," one said, scratching his head, "now I'm really curious to see what's inside. Hey, pull your knife out and open it up!"

Just as the other sailor was about to comply, a shrill scream rang out from one of the guests, followed by a cry from the crow's nest "PIRATES! EVERYONE LOOK OUT, WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

Chaos broke out on the deck, as all of the passengers scrambled to find safety inside the ship. The soldiers sprang into action, including the three who had been poking around the barrel. Unfortunately, they were no match for the raiding pirates, and a quick defeat was imminent. In the midst of all of this, the mysterious figure smiled from behind their hiding place amongst a stack of crates. Capitalizing on the opportunity provided by the commotion, the person shimmied open a window to the captain's quarters and climbed inside.

Within minutes, the last of the sailors had been completely defeated. As the pirates began tying their victims to the center mast, a massive woman waddled across the gang plank and stepped down onto the cruise ship, causing the boards underneath to practically gasp in pain. Behind her followed a diminutive boy with pink hair, nervously surveying the damage the crew had caused.

"Coby!" The whale of a woman bellowed out, a massive club resting comfortably on her wide shoulder. "Tell me, who is the most beautiful woman in the entire sea?"

"T-that would be you of course, Lady Alvida," the boy said with a clear tremor in his voice.

"Good answer!" Alvida said with a menacing grin. "Now, quit standing around and get to work – take that barrel lying over there and group it with the others inside. I want a complete inventory of what this ship is carrying, it's been a long time since we've managed to hit anything this big."

"B-b-but Lady Alvida, I'm not sure if I should…," Coby started to say before he was cut short by Alvida's massive fist sending his face crashing into the deck.

"Don't talk back to me, brat! You'll do as I say, and you'll do it now!" With that, Alvida gave Coby a kick towards the barrel, encouraging him to begin his assignment. As the other pirates laughed uproariously at his misfortune, Coby slowly pulled himself up off the ground. With a dejected look on his face, he rolled the barrel inside of the ship.

' _Stupid Alvida! Most beautiful woman in the sea my ass. Even the sea kings cringe when they look at her! One of these days I'm going to tell that cow off,'_ Coby fumed to himself, before reality set in and the hardened expression was replaced by his earlier look of depression. _'Ahh, who am I kidding? I'll never stand up to her. I'm such a wimp that I'm gonna be stuck as a slave to her crew forever.'_ Had Coby not been so lost in thought as he trudged down the hallway, he might have looked through one of the open doors and noticed the orange-haired girl piling valuables into a comically large bag of treasure.

Finally, Coby made his way into the kitchen with the barrel. _'Huh, that's funny – this barrel is totally different than these other ones,'_ Coby thought to himself. _'Not to mention it's pretty heavy too…'_

"Having trouble there, Coby?" The boy quickly turned to meet the source of the question and found three pirates chuckling and eyeballing him with dastardly looks.

"N-no sir, not at all!" Coby responded with a rigid salute, even if his trembling gave away his true feelings. "It was just pretty heavy for me to push, that's all."

"Heavy, huh? Must be something good in there then," another of the pirates reasoned, "open it up boy, and let's have a look-see."

"Are you crazy!?" Coby managed to blurt out. "Lady Alvida will kill us if she found out we were thinking about keeping some of the treasure for ourselves!"

The final pirate leaned in, so he was at eye-level with Coby, before he flicked open his switch blade. "Well, kid, we're not gonna say nothin'. What about you?"

Coby's face turned sheet white and he vigorously shook his head, while the other pirates laughed at the scene. Satisfied, the pirate with the knife reached down to open the barrel and –

{CRASH}

A boy in a straw hat exploded from the cask, sending shrapnel flying across the kitchen. "Man, what a great nap!" Monkey D. Luffy exclaimed. "I could really use some food now. I don't know if I remembered to pack any on my rowboat though…" Luffy then surveyed the scene around him. "Wait, this isn't my boat at all!" He then turned his attention to the three pirates, whose jaws had yet to leave the floor. Luffy looked at them with a blank expression, and inserted his pinky into his nose before asking, "what are you weirdos looking at?"

"YOU'RE ONE TO TALK!" The three pirates screamed in unison, mouths wide and filled with shark teeth. "Just what the hell are you doing here? Coby, you smuggled this bastard on, didn't you!?"

"No, of course not!" Coby shouted as he popped his head up from behind the barrel he had used as cover. "I've never met this man in my life!"

"You think we're going to believe that crap!" The pirate with a knife growled, "I always knew you were up to something suspicious – now we're going to gut you and your friend here." The other two pirates drew their swords in silent agreement.

"You really don't want to do this," Luffy said nonchalantly, "it's not gonna go how you think."

One of the pirates cackled at that comment. "This one's a cocky son of a bitch! Let's teach him a lesson, boys!"

As the three pirates took a step towards the boy with the leather glove, Coby turned around and closed his eyes tight. _'This poor guy has no idea what's going on, these are real deal pirates! He's done for!'_ Coby's inner dialogue was interrupted by a massive {SMASH}, causing the boy to grit his teeth. _'That's it, I'm a goner. They're coming for me next for sure!'_ Coby waited there, cowering in the corner, for the final blow. Seconds went by that felt like hours, but nothing happened. Coby's curiosity eventually won out over his cowardice, and he slowly opened one eye to see what was going on.

The straw-hat boy was rummaging through the barrels of food looking for a snack. The knife lay harmlessly on the floor, as did the two swords. The blades on all three had been shattered. Coby opened both eyes and looked up, finally realizing what had happened to the pirates. Three identical man-sized holes, equidistant from each other, allowed the sun to shine down on his spectacled faced.

"Who…who are you?" Coby finally managed to spit out. "What did you do to those pirates?"

"Those guys were pirates? Pretty lame to be pirates if you ask me! Shishishi," Luffy laughed. "My name's Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm going to be King of the Pirates! Nice to meet you!"

"Uh, hi Luffy, my name is Coby," the pink-haired boy said as he rubbed his head sheepishly, until his eyes suddenly flew open. "Wait, did you just say you're going to be King of the Pirates!? Are you crazy!?"

"Yep! Say, you got any food around here? I'm starving," Luffy replied, ignoring most of what Coby had said.

"Well, this isn't actually my ship. I'm part of the crew that's raiding it." Coby pointed towards a corner of the kitchen. "I think I might have seen some meat over there though."

"Eh, I don't really eat that much meat anymore," Luffy explained. "Got any fruit?"

"Sorry, I'm not sure. Hey, you better get out of here fast! You might have gotten lucky that time, but if any of the other pirates find you down here you're done for!"

"Nah, I'm good," Luffy said dismissively as he continued prying open crates and barrels. Soon enough, he broke one open that was filled to the brim with bananas. "Finally! I thought I was going to starve to death for sure."

Coby was becoming more and more alarmed by the nonchalance displayed by this mysterious boy. "Aren't you scared? Those guys are really bad news, they're serious criminals!"

Luffy finally looked towards Coby, three bananas shoved in his mouth and another three in each hand. "You're really a coward, {nom nom nom} aren't you? I hate people like that. I already told you {nom nom nom} I'm going to be King of the Pirates, why would I be worried?"

' _He says it so confidently! Such an outlandish dream, and yet there isn't a hint of doubt in his voice,'_ Coby thought to himself.

Luffy continued, "besides, didn't you say you were part of the crew? You don't seem so bad, even if you are a scaredy-cat."

Coby started to giggle sheepishly. "Well, the thing is I'm not really a part of the crew. I went fishing outside my village two years ago and got picked up by Lady Alvida's ship. I had to beg for my life, and they ended up installing me as their cabin boy." His head slouched down, and his eyes started to fill with tears. "But I've basically been their slave."

Luffy responded with a yawn, then started rummaging for another box of fruit. "You should just leave then."

"Leave! Are you crazy? Alvida would kill me for sure," Coby yelped.

Luffy looked Coby dead in the eyes. "So, you're a coward and a moron. That's pretty pathetic."

The words were so blunt they knocked Coby on his back from the impact. "Harsh but true," he mumbled through the tears. The boy pulled himself back to his feet as Luffy dove headfirst into a barrel of apples. "Did you really mean what you said earlier, Luffy? You really went out to sea in order to become King of the Pirates?"

Luffy face palmed with his leather glove. "Don't tell me you're deaf too. Shishishi." Luffy then looked up and clenched his fists. "My dream has always been to become the King of the Pirates, the freest man on earth. I promised myself and a few friends long ago that I'd stop at nothing until I fulfilled my goal."

Coby was left in awe of the older boy's display of determination. "T-that's amazing! A man so committed to his dreams, it's inspirational!" Coby sat silently for a moment, before continuing, "Luffy, do you think I can accomplish my dream?"

Luffy shrugged. "Sure, why not? If you commit your life to what you believe in, then nothing will stop you from getting where you want to be. Even a coward like you can do it!"

"Uhhh thanks, I guess. Well, in that case…I...I…I want to be a marine!"

Suddenly, Luffy's entire demeanor shifted. Coby wasn't exactly sure how the other boy would react to his pronouncement, but he definitely hadn't expected this. The carefree grin Luffy had worn since popping out of the barrel had been replaced by a thunderous scowl. A darkness filled his eyes unfitting of a man even many times his age. His leathered hand, which had been reaching for another crate of food, had clenched hard enough to disintegrate the wood he had been gripping.

' _Absolute justice…Son of Dragon…poisoned bloodline…'_

Coby was by now shaking in terror. "L-Luffy, are you alright? I apologize if I said something wrong, your commitment to your dream just inspired me to finally speak out. I knew I shouldn't have said anything…"

Then, without warning, the moment passed. Luffy released his grip on the crate, allowing it to drop harmlessly on the floor. He took a few deep breaths to stabilize himself before once again raising his eyes to meet Coby's. The scowl had disappeared, but the smile had not yet returned. Luffy's expression was completely neutral, an emotionless gaze that seemed decidedly out of place on the boy.

"Sorry about that Coby, it's a long story," Luffy finally sighed. "I have a bit of history with the marines." Then, a small smirk danced across his lips and his eyes began to fill with life once more. "But, I never want to be someone who would tear down someone else's dream. I hate people like that!" Luffy walked over and placed his hand on Coby's shoulder. "So, why do you want to be a marine?"

Coby shook his head. "I don't know, just forget I said anything. It's stupid anyway. Like you said, I'm a weakling, I could never be a real marine." Before Coby could continue with his self-pitying, though, a powerful fist collided with his jaw and sent him flying into the far wall of the kitchen. "What was that for, Luffy?" A dazed Coby managed to squeak out, "not that I'm not used to getting beat up now…"

"SHUT UP!" Luffy's scream of rage immediately silenced Coby. It even caught the attention of the orange-haired woman, who looked up for a moment before refocusing her attention on the safe she was attempting to crack.

"You're really pissing me off, you know that? Following your dreams isn't about whether you're sure if you can actually do it or not. You follow your dreams because that's what you want to do!" Luffy paused to take off his hat, giving it a long look before continuing. "That's why I'm going to do whatever it takes to become King of the Pirates, even if I have to die trying. I'll do it because that's all I've ever wanted to do, and because I owe it to everyone who didn't get a chance to fulfill their own dreams to go at it with everything I've got!"

' _Makino…'_

Luffy took a deep breath, then continued. "Coby, I may hate the Marines, but if it's truly your dream to join their ranks, then you have to do whatever you can to make that happen! That's what makes life worth living in the first place!"

Coby was stunned, tears streaming down his face because of the emotional outburst from a boy he had only just met. "Y-you're right, Luffy…from this day, I promise that I will become a great Marine! That I'll capture bad guys like Lady Alvida – NO, Alvida across the ocean and bring them to justice!"

' _Justice, huh?'_ Luffy thought to himself, but instead he just gave Coby a warm smile. "Shishishi! That's more like it, coward! I'm starting to like you more already."

Coby was about to thank Luffy for his encouragement, when he noticed a wide shadow covering his own.

"Who exactly are you going to capture, Coby?" Drawled a menacing voice.

Coby sprang forwards, sprinting into a safe hiding spot behind a confused Luffy. "Oh, uh, haha, Lady Alvida! I, uh, can explain!"

Alvida blasted down through the holes left by the three underlings Luffy had launched earlier. She gave the straw-hat boy a quick once over. "You don't look anything like the Pirate Hunter to me. Figures my men would screw that up." Next, she turned her attention over to Coby. "Coby, who is the most beautiful woman in the entire sea?"

"That would be you of course - "

"Coby, do you know this fat hag?"

The rest of Alvida's crew who had gathered around the opening covered their faces in horror. Coby himself looked like he was about to keel over. And Alvida had transformed into the living embodiment of hatred.

"Yo whale-lady, who the hell is that Pirate Hunter guy you mentioned earlier?"

Silence enveloped the entire boat, save for one corner where the young thief had overheard the conversation and was chuckling a bit as she loaded her treasure onto a hidden rowboat. A few pirates even collapsed due to some combination of shock and terror.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY TO ME, BRAT!? WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS, COBY?" Alvida screamed in rage.

Coby wouldn't be able to explain what happened next for as long as he lived, but it changed to course of his life and the direction of the world forever.

"HE WAS JUST TELLING THE TRUTH, ALVIDA! THAT YOU'RE AN UGLY, OLD, FAT BITCH!"

"Coby, that was pretty mean," Luffy halfheartedly scolded while shaking his head, "but really funny too! Shishishi!"

Coby, finally comprehending exactly what he had done, had snot dribbling down his face as he watched Alvida's face turn 10 different shades of red in as many seconds.

"You. Are. Dead." With that simple declaration, the pirate captain leapt forward with surprising agility for a woman her size, iron club ready to shatter its targets on impact.

"Welp, I ate all of their fruit, so I think it's time to go," said Luffy as he palmed Coby's head with his gloved hand. "Shave!"

Alvida finished her swing, only to realize her tormentors were nowhere to be found. The momentum associated with getting such a large body moving was too much to overcome, however, and she went flying into all of the remaining barrels.

Coby, who had closed his eyes expecting death, was shocked when he opened them and realized they were back on the main deck.

"Get 'em, men! No one disrespects the captain like that!" Came a shout from the crowd, and the remainder of the Alvida Pirates converged on the two boys.

"Come on guys, a hundred versus one? Fight me fair and square!" Luffy complained as a dozen swordsman encircled on him with blades drawn. Still, his smile only got wider as the pirates prepared to deliver the death blow. "Iron body!"

Twelve blades struck Luffy simultaneously, causing Coby to gasp in fear for his new friend. However, rather than slicing through the boy, the swords all shattered on impact, causing the attacking pirates to panic.

"Now it's my turn! Gum-Gum Gatling!" Luffy roared as he began throwing his fists forward so quickly that it appeared his two arms had transformed into twenty. Whether a pirate's jaw collided with leather or skin was irrelevant, as the end result was the same. Within seconds, the entire crew had been laid to waste by the straw-hat boy.

"L-Luffy, that was amazing! How are you so strong?" Coby shouted out in shock. "You took them all on like it was nothing!"

"NOTHING? DON'T GET AHEAD OF YOURSELF!" Alvida called as she jumped back up to the main deck. "You think you two can make a fool of me? I'm Alvida, the most beautiful woman…"

"Gum-Gum Bazooka!" Luffy's arms had extended all the way to the front of the boat, only to explode forward into Alvida's ample stomach. The impact was so severe it knocked Coby from his feet. Alvida was not so lucky, and the attack sent the pirate flying off into sky, so far away that she had disappeared from sight before she had shown any signs of falling.

"She was really getting on my nerves," Luffy deadpanned. "Not sure I meant to send her that far though. Gotta' work on that"

Coby was peeking out at Luffy from between his fingers, stunned at everything he had just witnessed. "What the hell are you? How can anyone be that strong!?"

Luffy responded with a triumphant flex and a laugh. "Shishishi, I'm a Rubber Man! I can't swim anymore, but now I can do all sorts of cool stuff," he said while pulling his cheek out a few feet to demonstrate. "Plus, my gramps gave me some extra training a couple years ago, and he really doesn't mess around."

' _No kidding, this guy is insane!'_ Coby thought to himself, before two large explosions rocked the ship. Confused, Coby rushed to the railing of the ship to figure out what was going on. "It's two marine ships! They must have been tracking Alvida's ship from behind when we attacked. But what the hell are they doing sending cannon fire at a civilian ship? There are still people on board!"

Luffy's more stoic face from earlier had returned. "That's not a huge surprise, collateral damage isn't a huge concern of theirs." Luffy continued, "we need to find a way off this ship fast, they're not going to stop before they bring it down."

"But that's crazy!" Responded Coby in shock. "Besides, Alvida destroyed all of the lifeboats when we boarded to make sure no one could escape with any of the valuables."

"Don't worry about it," said Luffy, "there's another boat right over there hidden by the rudder. There's a woman in it who's about to leave."

"How the hell could you possibly know that? Did you see her escaping earlier?"

"Nope, but I could sense her," Luffy replied simply. "Now let's getting going." With that, Luffy grabbed his diminutive friend and sprung over the railing. The two landed with a thud on top of a large sack of treasure, shocking the orange-haired woman who had been about to depart.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU MORONS!?" The girl screamed, her eyes filled with fury. "GET THE FUCK OFF MY BOAT, I'M NOT GIVING OUT FREE RIDES!"

"You're leaving, aren't you?" Luffy asked innocently. "So are we! So how about you take us with you? Come on, I can already tell you're a nice person."

That last comment seemed to catch the thief completely off guard, and she stared at straw-hat boy for just a moment with an unreadable expression. Soon enough, though, she regained her senses. "Listen, idiot, you have no idea who I am! You're sadly mistaken if you think I'm risking my life to rescue your ass!"

"Look," Coby interjected, "I agree this is a bit unorthodox, but those Marines are still firing, so I suggest we paddle now and save the arguing for later!" The orange-haired woman considered his words and looked up to assess the situation. She then gave a sigh of exasperation and a defeated nod.

"Shishishi, great! Let's get out of here!" Luffy roared, and the three began paddling like mad away from the sinking cruise ship.

"Ahhh! Luffy, I think they caught sight of our boat," Coby shrieked, "they're turning their cannons towards us!"

"Assholes! I would have been long gone by now had it not been for you two slowing me down. Now we're done for!" the girl screamed.

"Don't worry guys, leave this part to me! Moon walk!" Luffy jumped out of the boat and into the air, and much to the surprise of his two companions, began to run across the sky towards the two Marine ships until he was hovering directly above them.

"I have to be dreaming," the girl mumbled to herself, "this can't be happening…"

"GUM-GUM BATTLE AXE!"

Luffy's leg stretched further and further above his targets, until his sandal was lost in the clouds. Once he reached his apex, he swung the leg down with tremendous force, directly across the decks of the two ships. His leg tore through the wood as though it had been made of tissue paper, and both mighty vessels were completely torn in half. Marines screamed in panic as they scrambled to hang on to the boat or whatever wreckage floated in the water, and the newly separated halves began to rise up before their inevitable plunge. Satisfied with his work, Luffy hopped his way back to the rowboat and softly landed in his original seat. He was met with silence, as Coby and the girl had no ability to comprehend what they had just witnessed.

Luffy readjusted his hat and threw his feet up over one side of the boat. He then leaned back against the other side while propping his arms up behind his head. "Shishishi, that was awesome! They shouldn't be bothering us anymore." Neither of his companions responded, probably because neither had remembered to breathe since he first jumped out of the boat. The silence hung in the air for a few moments as the three drifted across the waves. Finally, Luffy turned his head to give the orange-haired girl an inquisitive look.

"So, what's your name?"

* * *

There it is, Chapter 2! Six Powers? Leather glove? Observation Haki? There's a lot going on!

Now please don't hold me to this one chapter a day pace going forward, it's been a happy combination so far of a little time off from school and my excitement with starting a new story. I had originally hoped this second chapter would get all the way to Zoro, but I decided that shorter chapters might be the better way to go. It'll be easier for you all to get through, it should prevent me from getting too burnt out, and it should help me get chapters out faster. A win-win-win, or something like that…

The Luffy trauma should start becoming more obvious once he faces real challenges and bonds with all his crewmates, but I tried to sprinkle it in a bit here. Besides, creating a Luffy who doesn't eat meat may be the biggest diversion from canon possible outside of stories that take away his family jewels that the women of Amazon Lily love so much.

Anyways, hope you enjoy, and once again all reviews and ideas are more than welcome! If I get enough I may start doing a short Q&A section at the start of each chapter, but I'll play it by ear.

Chapter 3 and Zoro coming soon!


	3. Chapter 3

Hello again, welcome to Chapter 3!

The positive feedback I've received on the story so far has been something else. I really didn't know what to expect when I put that first chapter out, and I was fully prepared for it to be a one-time thing. Yet here I am with another chapter already – I want you all to remember this time when I start updating once every few months like the big shots.

As promised, this chapter is Zoro's debut, and Nami's official introduction as well I suppose. I may be done with this whole story by the time he shows up in the manga again, so hopefully this can help give everyone their swordsman fix.

But first, some questions/comments:

 _Do you think Luffy will kill his enemies if he gets the chance?_

Hmm, good question. In fact, it's too good! I'll have to go with a no comment for now to keep things spoiler-free, but that's something to definitely keep an eye on as we go. You'll definitely be interested in this chapter, though…

 _Are you going to post when you feel like it or on a specific schedule?_

When I feel like it. How quickly I can get the writing done will depend on other things going on in my life. Like I mentioned last time, I've got some time off at the moment which allows me to give Inherited Will my total attention. That's not going to be the case all the time, but I'm going to do my best to write as often as I can, because I know how frustrating it can be when a story I enjoy takes huge breaks (Looking at you, Second Wind). First and foremost, I started writing the story because it's fun for me, and I don't want any self-imposed deadlines to turn this into a chore.

 _Giving Luffy Haki this early along with the Six Powers might be a bit much._

I understand your concern, but all we've seen Luffy do so far is sense Nami getting away on her rowboat. Coming chapters should clear things up a little bit, but I can promise he won't be transforming into Gear Fourth anytime soon.

And with that, enjoy the chapter!

 _I don't own One Piece, unfortunately…_

* * *

Chapter 3

' _What the fuck just happened!? Did I hit my head jumping off that ship? This goofy idiot really just flew through the air and destroyed two Marine battleships without breaking a sweat? No way, this isn't real. Can't be! Just had a little too much to drink last night when I was hustling that guy at the bar, that's all. Just close your eyes and sleep it off, forget this whole thing happened! That's right, close your eyes and sleep…'_

{POKE}

' _Sleep…'_

{POKE}

' _Slee – '_

{POKE – POKE}

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT!?" The orange-haired girl screamed, her eyes flying open as her fist simultaneously smashed Luffy's head into the floorboards. "AND QUIT POKING ME!"

"I asked you a question and you ignored me!" Luffy whined as he tried to pick the splinters out of his tongue

The girl held her head in her hands and let loose a deep sigh. _'So, this is really happening, huh? Just my luck, when I was finally getting so close...'_ Suddenly, she popped back up with a wide smile on her face and gave the two boys a friendly wave. _'Might as well make the most of this…'_

"I'm Nami, pleased to meet you!" The girl finally revealed. "I'm the best navigator in this whole damn ocean and I hate pirates! In fact, I go around stealing all their treasure!" Nami emphasized the point by happily massaging her bag of loot which took up half the boat. "Hey, you seem super strong – whatcha' say you and I team up and form an alliance? With our combined skills we'll be rich!"

' _Or at least I will be once I steal your share too,"_ she snickered to herself.

Luffy plopped back into his original seat and let loose a mighty yawn. "Nah, that sounds pretty lame. Besides, you'd just take my half of whatever we got anyways."

Nami's warm expression never faltered, save for the small tick that developed over her left eye. _'Shit, he's on to me! I must have come on too strong! Pull it together, Nami, this guy's a moron!'_ "You guys never gave me your names! What brings you two out to sea?" Nami offered, desperate to change the subject.

Coby, who had been observing the entire interaction on the periphery, suddenly tensed. _'Oh no, Luffy's going to say something really dumb here! I better jump in before…"_

"Shishishi, you're right! My name's Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm going to be King of the Pirates!" Luffy then gestured in towards the other boy. "And this is Coby, the coward who wants to be a Marine."

A massive sweat drop formed on the back of Coby's head. _'Did you not listen to a word she said, Luffy!? How can you be so strong and yet so dumb?'_ Meanwhile, Nami's sunny expression had turned decidedly stormy, and her knuckles turned white from clenching the paddles.

"Tell me why I shouldn't throw the two of you off my boat right now?" Nami asked with a demented glare that nearly made Coby faint.

Luffy studied her for a moment before sticking two of his leathered fingers high into the air. "First! Like I said before, I can tell you're a good person."

This comment had the same effect on the girl as it had a few minutes before, and her anger transformed into some combination of surprise and self-doubt.

"And second! I can't swim, so I'll die!"

Whatever goodwill he had built up vanished in a millisecond, which was incidentally all the time Coby had to react before the girl's fist sent Luffy crashing into him. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were my gramps with punches like that," Luffy grumbled as he pulled himself off a heavily-damaged Coby.

"Are you saying I look like an old man!?" Nami yelled with wide eyes and sharpened teeth. She cocked back her fist for another round, causing Luffy to shrink in fear. Rather than follow through, though, she took a deep breath before she allowed her arm to drop harmlessly to her side. "I'll admit, you really saved my ass with the Marines back there," Nami admitted, "so I'm not going to kick you two off."

"Shishishi, I knew I was right about you!" Luffy beamed as Coby struggled to crawl his way back onto his seat.

"Don't get the wrong idea though. I still hate pirates, so don't you dare get too comfortable!" Nami barked out. "People like you are the lowest of the low, always picking on the weak for your own benefit. You make me sick!"

A shadow from his straw-hat partially obscured Luffy's features, but Nami noticed a dark light that seemed to dance across the boy's eyes. "Only idiots see the world as so black and white," Luffy shrugged. "People all around this world treat others terribly, not just pirates. Evil like that lurks everywhere, and I'd never act like that in a million years." Luffy stared ahead for a few moments, allowing his words to sink in, before turning back to a flabbergasted Nami with a more natural grin. "But I know that you already knew that, because you're really smart!"

' _What is this guy's deal? He talks like he's some expert, but if he knew what I've been through…,"_ Nami thought to himself before shaking her head. _'But I gotta' say, he seems pretty earnest. I might as well drop it for now, no reason to make a big issue.'_ Nami then gave Luffy a wide smile of agreement, which the boy returned in kind.

"So, what's the deal with that glove you're wearing?" Nami asked with the tensions settled. "It looks pretty valuable to me. No offense, but you don't seem like the kind of guy that would spring for a nice accessory like that."

Coby, who had also been curious about the leather glove, leaned in to hear the answer.

"It was a gift," Luffy said simply, and his silence afterwards implied that those were the only thoughts he was willing to offer on the subject. This secrecy annoyed Nami a bit, but she seemed to decide against pressing him further when she again noticed the dark glint in Luffy's eyes.

"Fine. Can you at least explain to me how the hell you got to be so strong?" Nami questioned.

Much more interested in this inquiry than the previous one, Luffy leapt to his feet with a look of pride. "I'm a Rubber Man! I ate the Gum-Gum fruit on accident when I was a kid and now I can do all sorts of super cool stuff!" Luffy then started to inhale deeply, allowing himself to inflate further and further. While Coby was very impressed by this trick, all Nami could focus on was the bulging stomach coming dangerously close to knocking her treasure overboard.

"CUT THAT SHIT OUT!" Nami hollered, and Luffy immediately complied, the leaking air causing him to shoot around like a deflating balloon before landing with a thud in the center of the boat. Coby clapped at the display, while Nami could only face palm. "You ate a Devil Fruit, huh? I always thought those things were made up stories people told little kids," Nami explained

"Yep! But that's not all," Luffy continued after he resumed normal breathing. "I've been training super hard these past few years to get ready for my journey, and I picked up a lot of neat stuff. That's how I learned to jump around in the sky like you guys saw earlier."

"That's actually pretty impressive," Nami replied genuinely.

"Shishishi, thanks! Maybe I can show you a thing or two!" Luffy offered his non-glove hand up to Nami for a high-five, and to her own surprise the she obliged. _'He might not be so bad after all,'_ she thought to herself, _'even if he is a lousy pirate…'_

"Uh, hey guys? Sorry to interrupt, but do we have any idea where we're going?" Luffy and Nami turned to the third passenger on the boat, who had finally spoken up for the first time since leaving the cruise ship.

Nami was about to respond, but Luffy confidently interrupted her. "Of course! I've been doing some navigation training in addition to working on my fighting skills. I used to think North was up and South was down, but now I know that's all wrong." Luffy raised his hand triumphantly, pleased with himself for how much he'd learned. "The truth is, North is the direction that's right in front of you. So, that means we're heading North!"

Before Coby could question that logic, Luffy was already on the receiving end of another blow to the head. "Wrong, moron," Nami smirked despite herself before turning her attention to Coby. "Based on my observations, the destination closest to us should be Shells Town, which is a couple hours due West from here."

"D-did you say Shells Town!?" Coby stammered out. "B-but that's where they're keeping the feared Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro! The man is a cold-blooded killer, a monster!"

"That's right, the whale-lady mentioned him earlier. He's really that close?" Luffy pondered that fact for a moment before continuing. "It's settled, let's head for Shells Town! I need to meet this Pirate Hunter guy in person."

Coby, displaying surprising mobility for his pudgy frame, lunged towards Luffy and began to shake him by the collar. "Are you mad!? What possible reason could you have to seek out that demon? He'll cut us into little pieces!"

Luffy calmly removed himself from Coby's grip and gently placed the boy back down in his seat. "I gotta' meet him so I can decide if he should join my crew! If he's as strong as people say, he'd make a perfect third member."

"That's insane! How could the Pirate Hunter ever become a pirate?" Coby bellowed. "Besides, you told me you were by yourself, so how could he be your third crewmate?"

Luffy pounded his fist into his leather palm. "You're right, I totally forgot!" The straw-hat boy then spun back to the other side of the boat to address Nami. "Nami, I've decided you're going to be the navigator for my pirate crew! I'm lucky I met such a good friend so soon into my journey!"

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?" Shrieked the orange-haired girl, looking more and more like an evil witch by the second. "ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

Luffy crossed his arms in front of his face. "I refuse your refusal!"

"That's not a thing you can do! I already explained to you how much I hate pirates. What makes you think that changed in the last 10 minutes?"

"Well, we became friends of course!" Luffy said as though he were explaining things to a slow 5-year-old, "and I need a really good navigator if I want to become the King of the Pirates. Besides, I know that you want to join up with me too."

Nami was taken aback by Luffy's final reason, not only for its apparent randomness but also because of the certainty in his expression when he said it. _'What is he talking about, knowing that I want to join? What could he possibly mean by that?'_ Nami pinched the bridge of her nose tightly before responding. "Look, let's just get to Shells Town and go from there. I *might* be willing to discuss a partnership with you after that, but let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Luffy studied the girl carefully for a moment, but then gave a slight nod and grin. He sat back down in his chair to grab a pair of paddles, and Coby followed suit.

"So, where to navigator?"

"Just turn a little to…DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

* * *

 _After a few hours that consisted of paddling and a lot more bickering, the three young companions pull into the harbor of Shells Town. Home to a Marine base, the small city has become a household name in the East Blue, for it currently contains one of this ocean's greatest villains: The Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro._

"Woohoo, we finally made it! My first new island!" Luffy called out triumphantly as he landed on the dock. He scanned his surroundings for a moment before settling on a plan of action. "First – food. I'm starved! Then we can go find this Zomo guy."

"Luffy, it's Zoro!" Coby hastily corrected as he stumbled off the boat. "Besides, are you sure about this? He's really bad news!"

Nami interrupted Coby's whining with a huff as she finished securing the boat to the dock. "There are a lot scarier things in this sea than some guy with a stupid nickname who got himself captured, believe me." She paused for a moment before pointing dramatically at the two boys. "Listen! I've decided to tag along with you guys for now, but don't get any ideas! It just so happens that there's something on this island that interests me too, and you guys creating chaos will make things easier for me."

Luffy blinked a few times at the cute girl, but his attention had long since moved on to more important matters. "Whatever. Let's eat! Shishishi!" Luffy giggled to himself as he took off down the street into town.

' _That idiot didn't listen to me at all…it's alright, Nami, just get that map and this will all have been worth it,"_ Nami said to herself as she reluctantly followed after the straw-hat quickly disappearing into the crowd.

"Hey guys, wait up!" Coby shouted as he tried to keep up as much as his little legs would allow.

Eventually, the three came across a restaurant and enjoyed a delicious meal. Nami and Coby each ordered ham, the place's specialty. Luffy, on the other hand, decided to go with 15 bowls of salad.

"I've never seen anyone eat this much before…" Coby sweat dropped as Luffy finished off his final serving. "And all this after you ate a week's worth of provisions from that cruise ship." Nami was a bit amused by the whole display, and a slight smirk crept across her lips.

"Gramps always told me to eat it when ya' got it," Luffy responded. Finally satiated, the boy slammed his leather fist to the table, attracting the attention of the other patrons in the restaurant. "Now, let's go find the Pirate Hunter!"

Immediately, half the people who had been enjoying their lunch vanished out the door, and those who remained had adopted extremely uneasy expressions.

"I told you Luffy, that guy is bad news. People are really scared of him!" Coby explained. "He had been terrorizing the entire East Blue before the commanding officer at this town's Marine base captured him. I think I heard somewhere his name is Captain Morgan…"

Before Coby could continue, the remaining customers fled the scene. "Seems like people aren't that guy's biggest fan either," Nami remarked.

Coby was perplexed by this turn of events. "How could that be? One's a vicious bounty hunter, and the other is a Marine Captain!"

Luffy's right hand gripped Coby tightly on the shoulder, surprising the diminutive boy with the amount of force being applied. "What the hell did I say earlier about seeing things as black and white!? There are plenty of Marines out there worse than any criminal!" Luffy stared daggers into the other boy until Coby cautiously nodded in agreement. Satisfied, Luffy released his grip and rose from his seat. "Good. Now, let's go find this guy." Luffy then proceeded to walk out the door, with Coby following behind at a safe distance.

' _For a guy who's usually so goofy and welcoming, there's something not quite right there. Not that I have any right to judge…'_ Nami pondered that for a few seconds more before leaving to catch up to the two boys.

The Marine base was easy enough to find, even for Luffy, as it rose high into the sky at the island's most elevated point. After a short walk, the three came across a concrete wall separating the base from the rest of the town.

"I don't know about this Luffy," Coby started, "There's still time to change your mind."

"Nope," the rubber boy simply replied. "Besides, he's right over this wall. It'd be a waste to turn back now."

"There's no way they'd keep a dangerous criminal like him outside," Coby objected.

Luffy shrugged. "I don't know what you want me to say, but he's definitely just over that wall."

"And how could you possibly know that?" Nami asked, rolling her eyes.

"Because I can sense an incredibly powerful presence," Luffy answered, causing Coby to tremble. "Besides, one of the things I learned in my training was how to see through walls."

"Really!?" His two companions shrieked in unison. _'This guy is unbelievable!'_ Nami thought to herself. _'Maybe I should take him up on that training after all…'_

"Of course not you dummies! That's impossible! Shishishi!" Luffy collapsed in a fit of laughter, barely holding back the tears as he rolled around the ground.

"ASSHOLE!" Nami screamed, but before her fist could put another dent in Luffy's skull, the boy had already hopped over the wall.

"Luffy, be careful!" Coby yelled. He turned and was shocked to see Nami climbing up the wall yourself.

"What? All your talk has me curious to see this Zoro for myself. Besides, I gotta' scope the place out for later." Nami then teasingly stuck her tongue out at Coby. "But you're such a big coward you'll never find out the truth for yourself!"

Begrudgingly, Coby made his way to the wall and began to hoist himself up. By the time he met Nami at the top, Luffy was standing in the middle of a large open clearing. In front of him hung a man draped across two intersecting wooden poles. The color of the prisoner's hair immediately stood out, a bright green of a strikingly similar shade to the color of moss. He appeared to be only a little older than Luffy, and while he clearly had been there for some time his large muscles were still visible even from a distance.

Luffy inspected the man closely as he hung there unconscious. Suddenly, the green-haired man began to violently cough, and then a scowl broke across his face.

"What the hell do you want?" The man demanded gruffly. "You're going to get yourself and me into a lot of trouble if they catch you hanging around like this. I've already made it this long, don't go screwing it up for me now."

Luffy remained unfazed. "I'm looking for Pirate Hunter Zoro. Is that you?"

The man's frown was replaced by a devilish grin. "That depends. Who's asking?"

Luffy returned the smirk with one of his own. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm the man who's going to become King of the Pirates! I came here to get you to join my crew."

The man now officially identified as Zoro scoffed. "Clearly, you've heard of my nickname kid, so I have no idea why you thought I'd be interested." Zoro paused for a minute to cough before laughing. "I gotta' say though, I admire someone with dreams as big as that."

"Shishishi, yep! And nothing's going to stop me either!" Luffy beamed proudly.

"Well, it doesn't matter. My answer is still no. I'm no crook, and I have no interest in tainting myself like that. I have one goal in this life, and anything beyond that is a distraction."

"That's not true," Luffy frowned. "Real pirates only care about freedom! Good and evil has nothing to do with it."

Zoro considered that for a moment before shaking his head. "Whatever. I only have to last another week out here and then I'm going to be free to go. Then I can go back to finding the man – "

"There's someone coming," Luffy interrupted. Before Zoro could blink, the straw-hat boy had vanished.

' _What the fuck was all that?'_ Zoro thought to himself. _'I must be going crazy from the lack of food.'_ Much to his surprise, however, a small head poked over the wall before crawling down to his side. A little girl, carrying a basket full of rice balls, hurried over until she was standing at the feet of the reviled Pirate Hunter.

"Are you trying to die, kid? Get lost," Zoro spat out.

"That guy's a real jerk," Nami commented as she turned her head to Luffy, who by that point had made it back to his companions and was observing the scene with them. "You sure this is the kind of guy you want on your crew, Pirate King?" Luffy ignored the bait, and instead kept his focus on the conversation unfolding in front of them.

"I made you special rice balls, Mister!" The girl said cheerfully, holding them up so the man could get a better look.

"Kid, I already told you to leave me alone. I'm not hungry, you're wasting your time."

"But I spent all night making them!" The girl replied. "My mommy helped a little, but I did them all by myself!"

Exasperated, Zoro banged his head against the back of the post. "Listen, I – "

"Well, well, what do we have here?"

Zoro's heart dropped as he turned to the source of the interruption. A frail man, with bright blond hair arranged in a bowl cut and extravagant clothes, was being escorted into the courtyard by a pair of Marine soldiers. Despite his physical weakness, the boy wore a smug expression befitting that of a World Noble.

"Who the hell is this clown?" Nami wondered aloud, and her two companions were equally confused.

"Roronoa Zoro! What did I tell you about eating? Your time is not up!" The boy scolded Zoro, who strained against his restraints in rage.

"I haven't tasted anything in weeks, just like I promised," Zoro managed to grit out.

"Mr. Helmeppo, sir," one of the Marines addressed the blonde boy, "what will you have us do with this little girl?"

"Oh, that's right, I almost forgot." Helmeppo frowned as he lowered his head to come face to face with the little girl, who was staring back at him defiantly. "Can't you read, dumb brat? No one is allowed to go near this monster, and you've tried to feed him!" With that, he snatched the bowl of rice balls out of the girl's grasp.

"Hey, those aren't meant for you!" She argued.

"Shut it twerp. Someone should enjoy these, and it isn't going to be him." Helmeppo grabbed the top rice ball from the pile and took a small bite. Suddenly, his whole face turned green, and he spit the half-chewed food onto the ground. "What the hell is in these things? Why are they sweet?"

The little girl seemed confused by this, but still answered. "I put sugar in them because I thought they'd taste better that way!"

"Moron! You put salt in rice balls, these things aren't even edible!" With that, Helmeppo slammed the bowl onto the ground, causing all of the rice balls to fall into the dirt. For good measure he even started to stomp on some of them. "These things are an insult to food, you should be ashamed!

"But I worked so hard on them…" The girl whimpered as she started to tear up. Zoro was enraged. "Bastard," he managed to grumble out under his breath."

"He's a real piece of shit," whispered Nami, and Coby nodded in agreement. Luffy kept staring straight ahead, but his leathered hand had formed a tight fist.

"Men, throw this stupid girl out of here immediately. Toss her over the wall as an example to anyone else who would try and help this criminal!" Helmeppo demanded.

"But sir, are you sure…"

"That was a direct order! Do it now!"

With pained expressions, the two soldiers lifted the girl up despite her struggles, and with a mighty heave tossed her out of the courtyard and over the wall.

"Luffy, do something!" Nami yelled out.

"Shave!"

In a flash, Luffy was waiting underneath the little girl to intercept her path. After catching her and placing her softly on the ground, he leaned over to tussle her hair. "Don't worry, you're safe now." The girl looked shell-shocked for a moment, but then she burst out in tears; once she was out of Luffy's grasp, she took off into town without looking back.

Coby turned his attention back to the courtyard once he determined that the girl was safe, but Nami's eyes lingered on Luffy as he watched the girl run away. There was no smile or even anger on his face. Just a blank, emotionless stare. _'What's going through your mind?'_ Nami wondered, even if she couldn't really understand why it mattered to her.

All of this action went unnoticed to those still inside the clearing. Pleased with himself, Helmeppo turned to walk back into the base. On his way, he waved a hand back at Zoro and gave him a snide smirk. "You still have a few days to go, Pirate Hunter. Good luck surviving that!"

"I'm far too strong to ever be killed by something like this – I will not fail!" Zoro shouted back in defiance. However, when he was certain that he was alone again, he allowed himself to slouch against his restraints, his exhaustion once again shining through. He closed his eyes, hoping to forget about his predicament while asleep.

"So, where were we?"

Zoro's eyes flew open to see the same kid with the goofy straw-hat from earlier standing in front of him.

"Nowhere!" Zoro angrily responded. "I already told you there's no way I'm joining your crew."

"Welp, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, so think about it," Luffy said as he turned to walk back towards the wall.

"He really only hears whatever he wants to, doesn't he?" Coby face palmed. Nami could only nod in agreement.

"Hey, wait!"

Surprised, the two looked back into the square to see that Zoro had called out to Luffy.

"That rice ball on the ground there? Can you hand that to me?"

"This one?" Luffy bent over to pick up the rice ball, which had been half-crushed by Helmeppo's boot and was covered with all kinds of grime. "You sure you want this?"

"I thought he said he was too strong to need food?" Nami questioned.

"Just shut up and give it to me!" Zoro growled. The two held eye contact for a few seconds, and then Luffy walked over and carefully placed the rice ball in Zoro's mouth. The vile monster began to hungrily devour the snack. His face turned pale and it looked like he might throw the whole thing up, but after some tortured chewing he managed to swallow everything.

"What was the point of all that? Probably did him more harm than good," Nami reasoned. Coby couldn't give her an answer, but Luffy had a broad smile stretched across his face.

"Excellent, the best!" Zoro shouted out between pained breaths. "I want you to find that girl and tell her I ate every bite, and that it was delicious."

"Shishishi, you got it!" Luffy called over his shoulder as he walked back towards Nami and Coby.

"Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all…," Coby mumbled, clearly conflicted.

"That guy is so great! He's going to make a great addition to our crew, Nami!" Luffy exclaimed with glee, throwing an arm around the orange-haired girl.

"I'M NOT A PIRATE MORON!"

* * *

The three walked back together into town, Luffy massaging a massive welt on his head and Coby serving as a barrier in the middle of the group.

' _I gotta' give it to him, that Zoro turned out to not be such a bad guy,'_ Nami thought to herself as they continued down the street. _'Luffy really seems to have a talent for seeing someone's true colors.'_

 _Come on, I can already tell you're a nice person!_

The memory hit Nami like a ton of bricks, causing her to stop her momentum.

"You alright, Nami?" Coby asked with concern. Luffy didn't say anything but focused on her with a searching look.

"Yeah, of course! Just thought I saw something valuable in that window, all good." She replied with a cheeky grin on her face. "Always need to be on the lookout for a score!"

Satisfied, Coby turned back around and continued to walk. Luffy held his gaze a while longer, and Nami felt as though she might melt under his inspection. He too turned around eventually, though, and the three continued on their trek to find the little girl.

' _Don't get too attached Nami. There's only one way that will turn out…'_

* * *

 _Soon enough, the trio came across the little girl, who happened to be the daughter of the owner of the restaurant they had eaten at earlier. Following another meal that Luffy had insisted on, the companions were delivering Zoro's message._

"Really!? He actually said that?" The little girl, who had revealed her name to be Rika, was staring at Luffy with gigantic eyes.

"Absolutely! He ate the whole thing and said it was the best thing he ever tasted," Luffy explained while Nami and Coby smiled in agreement.

Rika squealed with excitement over the news. "That's so great!"

"I still don't get it," Coby said while rubbing his head. "Everything I heard about this guy was that he was pure evil!"

"No way!" Rika burst out "Moss-Guy is the coolest!"

' _Moss-Guy?'_ Nami sweat dropped _'Not the most flattering of names for a guy who's supposedly so cool...'_

"Shishishi! Rika is way smarter than you, Coby!" Luffy cackled while Coby blushed

"How did someone that strong ever get locked up in the first place?" Nami questioned the girl. "Bad guy or not, I always heard he was pretty tough."

Rika's head drooped, and her eyes began to swell with tears. "Well, that's actually my fault…"

"How could that possibly be!?" Nami asked.

"It's all because of that jerk Helmeppo. He's that blonde guy that was picking on me in the courtyard," Rika explained. "He's the son of Captain Morgan, so he can do whatever he wants and gets away with it because everyone is too scared of his mean dad to ever stand up to him. One day, he came in here with his pet wolf for lunch and it attacked me! I would have been a goner for sure, but Moss-Guy was there to chop it up and save me! Helmeppo was really mad his dog got hurt though, so he told Moss-Guy that if he didn't surrender that my mom and I would be executed."

"That's terrible!" Coby managed to say, while the stormy expression on Luffy's face kept growing darker.

"Helmeppo told Moss-Guy that he'd have to stay tied up there for a month without food and water," Rika continued. "And then he said he'd let him go. But that whole time the jerk has been torturing Moss-Guy, beating him up while he has no way to defend himself!" Rika slammed her tiny fists into the table with anger. "I hate Morgan and Helmeppo, but I'm too little to do anything about it!"

Nami shook her head in disgust. Luffy was about to speak up, when the door to the restaurant flew open.

"Ahh, lunch time! Get me something to eat immediately!" Helmeppo himself strolled through the entrance and took a seat at the bar. "I need to get my fill while I can, I have a big day tomorrow. Daddy's going to let me execute the Pirate Hunter! What a dumbass, thinking he'd actually be allowed to go free after what he did to me. Hahaha – "

{CRASH}

Pedestrians going about their daily routines ran over to the sound of the massive collision. To their shock, those who arrived first discovered Helmeppo lying unconscious in a pile of rubble, an entire wall collapsed around him. People then slowly turned their attention to the restaurant across the street, where a boy with a red vest and straw-hat stood with his hand gripped tightly into a fist.

"Let's go!" The boy shouted out before sprinting off towards the marine base. Two others, a pudgy boy and an attractive girl, followed him out the door and struggled to keep up. Finally, a beaming little girl came out to wave at the fleeing figures, while her mother poked her head out nervously from the door.

* * *

 _A few minutes later…_

"Alright guys, here's the plan," Nami said with a serious expression. "Luffy!"

"Yes Ma'am!" Luffy responded with a rigid salute.

"You go do whatever you're going to do with your scary green-haired friend. While you're at it, try to make as much trouble with the Marines as possible."

"Right!" Luffy exclaimed, pounding his fist to his gloved palm.

"Meanwhile, I'm going to sneak into the Marine base while you're distracting them, so I can find the treasure I came here for. After that, I'll make my escape! Everyone good?"

"Wait! What about me?" Coby interjected, struggling to maintain a salute with his knees so wobbly.

"Of course, how could I forget? Coby, your job is: don't get in the way."

As Coby toppled over, Nami continued, "OK, there's a good chance this is where our alliance ends. You both were useful enough, but now it's time to say goodbye."

"Shishishi, you're not even fooling yourself Nami! See you guys soon!" Luffy replied with a knowing grin. He then grabbed hold of the top of the wall and launched himself into the courtyard.

' _What the hell does he mean by that!? Ugh, worry about it later, you have bigger fish to fry,'_ Nami decided, and she took off into the base without a second glance at Coby.

Landing with a thud, Luffy found himself again facing Zoro, who lazily opened his eyes to see the rubber boy staring back.

"You're a persistent son of a bitch, aren't you? You should find a hobby or something." Zoro grumbled out.

"When it's for something I want, of course! And I decided I want you on my crew for sure!" Luffy explained.

Zoro grit his teeth in anger. "Stop being so blockheaded and listen to me! I already told you, I have no interest in becoming pirate filth."

"Strong words coming from a feared bounty hunter," Luffy jabbed back.

Zoro let out an exasperated sigh. "That's not who I am at all, it's just a way to buy food and booze. It has nothing to do with my true ambition."

"And what would that be?" Luffy asked curiously.

A demonic glare shown through Zoro's eyes as a toothy grin sprawled across his face. "I made a promise long ago that one day I would become the greatest swordsman who ever lived. Everything I do is in pursuit of that goal, until I can one day meet the man who currently holds that title and defeat him."

"A swordsman, huh?" Luffy replied after a moment. "I could definitely use one of those on my crew. And the Pirate King would never accept anything less than the world's greatest swordsman! Shishishi!"

Zoro pondered that for a moment with a contemplative expression. However, he shook his head soon after. "Forget it! I'm getting out of here in a few days anyway, so get lost! I'm too strong to die here, and then I'll be able to continue my journey on my own terms!"

"That'd be a decent idea, if that Marine Captain's son wasn't planning on executing you tomorrow," Luffy said with a shrug.

"What are you saying? We have a deal!" Zoro demanded.

"He was going through town bragging to anyone who would listen how he had tricked you," Luffy explained. "They planned on killing you once and for all tomorrow morning."

' _Still as stupid as ever, huh Zoro?'_

Zoro jerked his head at the sight of a slender, dark-haired girl in his periphery, but by the time he had turned whatever he had seen was gone.

"Damn it!" Zoro shouted. "I should have known something like this would happen. I'm too weak now to break through these ropes, but if I had my swords…"

"I can find your sword," Luffy offered. "Then we'll be friends for sure!"

Luffy took off towards the base and –

"Swords"

Luffy turned back to the green-haired swordsman. "Huh?"

"Swords. You'll find three of them in there, they're all mine."

Luffy's eyes transformed into shining stars. "That's so awesome! I made a good choice picking a badass like you to be on my crew! Shishishi!"

Luffy then went running back towards the base, even faster than before. Zoro watched as he left, feeling some strange combination of annoyance, resignation, and even a bit of excitement.

"I never should have fucked with that dog," he mumbled to himself. Despite being left alone, he could have sworn he heard a girl's laughter in response.

* * *

A gigantic man stood atop the Marine base, admiring the equally gigantic statue being raised by his subordinates.

"God, do I look good," proclaimed the man, absorbed in his own self-admiration. He flexed his muscles proudly, and the large axe attached to his right arm that had earned him his moniker glinted dangerously in the sun.

"Captain Morgan, should be only a few more minutes before we have your monument ready, sir!" Called out a Marine grunt organizing the team effort to raise the massive marble object. The statue reflected its source material well, with oversized muscles breaking through the stone, a close-cut haircut and the axe itself.

Axe-Hand Morgan stood back, absorbing the progress with a look of total satisfaction. _'It's about time the people of this pathetic town treated me with the respect that I deserve,'_ Captain Morgan thought to himself with a smug grin. _'The greatest Marine in all the East Blue!'_

"Daddy, help me!"

Morgan's blissful daydreams were interrupted by the shrill whining of his son, Helmeppo. The boy appeared to have been beaten within an inch of his life; his fancy clothes were torn and covered in dirt, and his face was caked in blood. Two Marines had two physically hold him upright as he gasped for breath.

"What is it, boy?" Morgan said disinterestedly, never once removing his gaze from the statue.

"Daddy, look at me!" Helmeppo shrieked. "I was brutally attacked by some thug in town, in front of everyone. No one can put their hands on me like that! You have to do something!"

Morgan still did not turn to meet Helmeppo's tear-filled eyes, instead giving a loud snort. "Absolutely not."

"B-but Daddy…"

"QUIET!" Morgan roared as he suddenly wheeled around to face Helmeppo, drawing his axe to within inches of the boy's neck. "Your pathetic whining sickens me! No true son of mine could ever be such a fucking weakling."

Morgan drew his weapon away from Helmeppo, who looked equal parts terrified and genuinely hurt, before turning his attention back to his monument. After pausing for a moment, he continued, "besides, I heard that you let an intruder walk away free earlier."

Helmeppo was still at a loss for words, but one of the Marines supporting him jumped in instead. "Sir, it was just a little girl, we thought – "

The soldier was dead before he could even blink. The Captain had leapt into action, bringing his mighty axe down across the unsuspecting victim's body and leaving a massive gash across his torso. The Marine collapsed limply to the ground, and with half of his support system gone Helmeppo collapsed as well. The boy tried to scramble away from the fallen corpse, but his hands had already been coated in the leaking blood. He frantically tried to wipe them off across the ground while hyperventilating, but to no avail. The rest of the Marine squadron stood in complete silence, unable to comprehend what they had just witnessed.

"I gave you a direct order, soldier. That Pirate Hunter is far too valuable for my future. You should have killed the little bitch," Morgan spat out. He then defiantly raised his axe into the sky, blood still dripping from its razor-sharp edge. "Let that be a lesson to all of you shits!" Morgan bellowed. "I'm the King of this damn town, and therefore you must give me your total obedience! Any questions!?"

"GUM-GUM RIFLE!"

Morgan's assertion of authority was cut short by the massive stone copy of his head crashing into him and through the Marine base. The Marines were stunned by the sudden creation of a huge hole in the roof, while Helmeppo remained unconcerned with anything but the blood coating his hands. With everyone's attention on the drama between the Captain and his son, no one had noticed the boy with a straw-hat jumping through the air behind them. However, the boy was fully aware of everything that had happened; as he landed with a loud thud on the roof, a deep hatred had enveloped his every movement.

Luffy walked unimpeded towards Helmeppo, since all of the Marines were too stunned by the whole situation to make any move to stop him. He stopped to tower over the other boy, finally shaking Helmeppo from his stupor. Luffy stared at him with a cold seriousness that made Helmeppo's blood freeze. Then, Luffy spoke.

"I get it."

With that, Luffy then jumped through the opening his fist had already created, leaving a confused Helmeppo behind.

* * *

 _In a lower level of the Marine base, Nami was working diligently to complete her own mission._

"Almost…there…got it!" Nami whispered to herself. She slowly cracked open the lock to the safe she had been prying at the past few minutes. "After all this waiting, I'll finally have my map to the Grand Line. One trip there and I can put this all behind me – "

The words caught in the thief's mouth when she realized the safe was empty. Unable to believe it, Nami hurriedly shoved her hands into the safe, searching every corner for a secret compartment.

"No, no, no! This is impossible! I've been tracking this map for months, I was positive it was here!" Nami groaned in frustration. Suddenly, she noticed a small piece of paper tucked underneath the back corner of the safe. Pulling it out and examining it, she discovered that it was mostly blank, except for a small note scrawled across the bottom

 _Buggy was here._

"Damn it!" Nami banged her head in anger. "Someone already beat me to it. Now how the hell am I going to get this thing?"

' _Maybe I can convince Luffy to help me…,'_ she thought to herself before shaking her head. If she was being honest with herself, that rubber idiot wasn't as easily removed from her mind as she had expected. _'How many times do you have to tell yourself, Nami? No attachments!'_

Before she could come up with an alternative plan, a massive impact sent her flying into the nearby wall. The entire roof of the room she had been searching in had exploded, and a massive chunk of stone lodged itself between the support beams of the base.

Nami, a little banged up but no worse for wear, stumbled to her feet. She slowly walked over towards the source of the destruction. _'Was that some kind of meteor? But that wouldn't make sense, this stone is so smooth it almost looked like it was carved. What the hell is it then?'_

Nami was startled out of her investigation by a large, muscular arm that broke its way through the rubble.

"That…fucking…brat…"

* * *

"You know they'll kill you for this, right?" Zoro said in a bored tone.

As the swordsman hung loosely from his restraints, Coby was doing all he could to untie the knots and break the green-haired man free. Despite his best efforts, he was making very limited progress.

"Why exactly are you doing this?" Zoro questioned, attempting to suppress the curiosity in his voice.

"Because I'm going to be a good Marine!" Coby shouted as tears streamed down his face. "Luffy taught me that not all things are black and white, and no true defender of justice would do something like this. I'm going to become a true Marine someday, just like Luffy is going to become the Pirate King!"

Zoro scoffed at that, but he couldn't help widening his eyes a bit. "So that's not an act, huh? He really believes it?"

"I was as surprised as you were when he first told me, but now I'm absolutely certain he'll accomplish it. He's staked his life on his dream!" Coby concluded with conviction

"His life, eh?" Zoro said with an amused look. Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by the sounds of gunfire.

"GAH!" Coby yelled out, "I've been shot!" Blood started to pore from the fresh wound on his right shoulder.

The squad of Marines from the roof were rapidly approaching, as after the chaos one had finally noticed the activity going on in the courtyard. "You are in direct violation of the orders of Captain Morgan. Prepare to be severely punished for your crimes!" One soldier declared

"Kid, you gotta' run or you're a goner!" Zoro demanded in panic, only to be shocked as Coby crawled his way back to the post.

"Never! They'll kill you if I leave here, and it'd be all my fault! I can't live with being a coward any longer, I won't back down!" Coby shouted out through the pain as he went back to working on the ropes.

Zoro was flabbergasted, and without warning an image of the straw-hat boy and his goofy grin flashed across his vision. _'So, these are the kind of people you attract,'_ Zoro thought to himself.

Then, the swordsman turned his attention back to the dozens of rifles pointed in their direction, desperation starting to set in.

' _I can't afford to die here! Not before I can fulfill my promise!'_

* * *

Luffy rushed through the halls of the Marine base. He didn't have to deal with much resistance given that most of the soldiers had been on the roof trying to erect Morgan's vanity project. Those stragglers that did get in his way quickly regretted it.

' _Focus, Luffy, look for the auras,'_ the rubber boy thought to himself after sending one unlucky soldier out a window. _'Just like Gramps said…'_ Luffy continued to sprint forward but closed his eyes and adopted a look of deep concentration.

' _There'_

Screeching to a halt, he turned to face a nondescript door. He could sense three distinct entities, both emanating an intense raw power. Two were fairly similar; one, however, seemed to call out to him, as though it was aware of Luffy's presence itself. Luffy swung open the door to find three large katanas resting safely in the corner. Luffy stretched his arm out to secure the three swords, the sprinted towards a window.

"Sky walk!"

Luffy exploded through the glass, swords in hand, and jumped back towards the clearing. Within seconds, he landed softly in front of Zoro, Coby and the squad of Marines.

"Luffy!" Coby cried out in joy, nursing his injured shoulder.

"I'm probably hallucinating, but I could have sworn you flew over here," Zoro muttered.

"Nope, I was," Luffy said plainly.

Zoro opened his mouth to follow up but instead dropped his head in dumbfounded resignation. "We'll talk about that some other time. Thank you for getting me my swords, now get me the hell out of these ropes!"

Luffy looked back at Zoro, and the bounty hunter couldn't help but notice that much of the boy's positive energy from earlier had vanished. "If I get you out, will you join my crew?" Luffy asked.

"DO YOU SEE THOSE GUNS POINTED AT US MORON!? THIS ISN'T THE TIME FOR YOUR DUMB QUESTIONS!" Zoro roared.

The Marines, initially frozen by Luffy's dramatic entrance, had managed to regroup. "That's the one that attacked Captain Morgan! He can't be allowed to get away with that," one of the soldiers called out.

"Shoot them all, the Pirate Hunter too! Avenge the Captain, or else he might come after us!" Another yelped nervously.

"Yeah!" Echoed many in unison, and suddenly all of the rifles were trained on the rubber boy. Luffy made no move to retreat in response to this show of force. Slowly, he gently lowered the three swords onto the ground next to Zoro. With that done, he turned to face the Marines head on, pulling his hat over his eyes with his leather glove.

"What the fuck are you doing!? Don't freeze up now kid, give me the swords," Zoro demanded. "Otherwise you're done – "

"Shave."

In a blur, Luffy had disappeared, leaving everyone in the clearing perplexed. Suddenly, one of the Marines at the front of the firing squad had his rifle shattered in his hands. Soon enough, a soldier in the back experienced the same problem. Within seconds, rifles throughout the squad were exploding without warning.

As the Marines panicked, Zoro focused on the scene intently. _'How can anyone possibly move that fast!? I'm doing everything I can to keep up and have barely caught a glimpse of his outline!'_

Moments later, Luffy was standing back in his original position. Across from him, all of the Marine's guns laid destroyed on the ground. Enraged, a group of ten soldiers drew their swords and charged towards the pirate.

"Insolent brat, your tricks won't work on us! We'll cut you down!"

Coby panicked as the Marines quickly drew close, but Luffy paid them no attention. Instead, he bent down to pick up the swords. "I'll leave these guys to you. I gotta' make sure the swordsman on my crew is actually as strong as everyone says he is." With a slight smirk, Luffy tossed the weapons in the direction of the bounty hunter; simultaneously, ten Marines swung their own swords down towards the rubber boy's head.

The momentum of all ten were immediately halted. With a sword in each hand and one in his mouth, Roronoa Zoro stood directly in front of Monkey D. Luffy and blocked every attack.

"A pirate, huh?" Zoro muttered out past the sword in his teeth. "I suppose people see me as a monster anyway. The distinction between good and evil doesn't matter to me; all that matter is the ultimate completion of my goal." With that, Zoro shifted his weight and spun, sending the Marines flying into the sky. Coby looked on in awe at the display, while the remaining Marines regarded the two powerhouses in front of them with horror.

Zoro rose from a crouch and faced Luffy eye-to-eye. "You saved my life, and I owe you a great debt for that," the green-haired man continued with a smirk. "Therefore, I've decided to join your pirate crew. Just remember this: everything I do is to further my pursuit of becoming the world's greatest swordsman. If you ever get in the way of that, I'll cut you down without hesitation, _Captain."_

Whatever had been troubling the rubber boy earlier had apparently be forgotten for now, as a massive smile broke across his face. "Shishishi, no problem for me! Like I said, it'd be pretty embarrassing for the Pirate King to have anyone weaker than the world's greatest swordsman on his crew!"

Zoro returned the smile, and the two men clasped hands; in retrospect, one wonders if a more handshake had ever occurred in the world's history.

The leftover Marines were completely unnerved by this display of unity. "Those two are monsters! We don't have a prayer against them!" One soldier shrieked.

"Let's get the fuck out of here! That kid already took out Morgan, we can probably get out of town before he wakes up!" Another reasoned, and the group prepared to turn tail and run.

"LUFFY!"

The terrified scream rang out through the courtyard and froze everyone in place. Luffy immediately directed his attention towards the base, where a hulking figure was making his way towards the battle. "Nami…" Luffy whispered.

The orange-haired girl was trapped in the grip of Captain Morgan. Her face was seriously bruised, and she showed other signs of a significant struggle. Morgan didn't look great either, but his menacing muscles were able to handle the slight girl without any issues.

"Quiet, whore," Morgan ordered, tightening his grip around Nami, who had to gasp for breath. "You've given me enough problems already."

Morgan looked over towards the retreating Marines, each with an expression more horrified than the last. "You cowards make me absolutely sick," he spit out," but I've got bigger fish to fry before I punish all of you."

Morgan then directed his focus to the pirates. "Roronoa Zoro, I'm familiar with your work. You may be as strong as your reputation, but even then, you're no match for me," the Captain bragged.

Morgan then swung Nami in the air as if to gesture towards Luffy. "And you, the boy who attacked me! I have no clue who the fuck you are, but I'm putting an end to you first." He then lifted Nami straight ahead before continuing, "I assume this bitch in my hand is yours? She kept calling out your name as I pummeled her. It was actually quite touching, in some pathetic way. Hahaha!"

Zoro's hand was hovering just above his sword, his eyes filled with bloodlust. Even Coby, injured and all, rose to his feet with a look of anger. _'I'm not going to let this asshole hurt Nami!'_ Coby promised himself. However, he stopped himself short when he noticed Luffy's strange behavior. The powerful boy had not moved into an attacking position like his new crewmate; in fact, he stood trembling, a vacant look filling his eyes as he stared towards the ranting Marine officer. His right hand was the only part of his body that demonstrated any signs of action. It had been so tightly balled into a fist that Coby thought it would draw blood if not for the glove.

"Luffy, what's wrong? You gotta' snap out of this, Nami needs you!" Coby said as he tried to shake Luffy out of his trance. However, Luffy remained comatose despite all of his friend's efforts.

Zoro noticed what was happening besides him and looked over in confusion. _'What is going on? This guy wants to be the Pirate King and he's scared shitless by some East Blue Marine Captain? That can't be it…,'_ the swordsman wondered.

"Luffy…help me...," Nami whispered out before Morgan raised her again in triumph.

"Ha! You're a complete coward, boy!" Morgan taunted. "Don't think that will make me pity you after that sucker punch earlier. No, I'm definitely going to cut you in half. But first, I'm going to kill this thieving bitch right in front of you, and you can't do – "

"AKAINU! GUM-GUM TEMPEST WHIP!"

A massive blade of wind cut through the air and made its way across the courtyard at an alarming speed. Morgan, even if he had been more prepared for the sudden attack, had no hope of dodging. With a sickening noise, the blade cut through Morgan's left wrist without resistance. Everything was silent, only to be interrupted by the thud of Morgan's hand, still grasping Nami, collapsing to the ground.

"NO! NOT AGAIN, THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" Bellowed Morgan, holding the bloody stump at the end of his left arm in front of his face.

"Nami, you're safe!" Coby hollered in excitement.

Zoro's reaction was much more stoic as he withdrew his hand from the hilt of his blade. "Who the hell is Akainu?" he mumbled to himself.

After a few seconds of registering exactly what had happened, Nami quickly pried her way out of the grasp of Morgan's detached hand. She rose from the ground on unsteady feet, brushing off all the dirt and rubble she had collected. That done, she rose her head towards her savior. "Luffy, I…"

"SHAVE!"

In a flash, Luffy had transported himself across the courtyard and tackled Morgan into the nearby wall. Before anyone could react, the straw-hat boy started raining down massive punches with his right hand on the Captain's face.

"AKAINU!"

"AKAINU!"

"AKAINU!"

With every punch, Luffy called out the same name. Within seconds, Morgan lost consciousness from the beating, and soon after that his face was becoming unrecognizable. And yet, Luffy showed no restraint, no remorse.

"AKAINU!"

"AKAINU!"

"AKAINU!"

Coby and Zoro sprinted over to the assault while the Marines looked on in shock and fear.

"Luffy, stop this! You already won, you're going to kill him! This isn't right!" Coby yelled out through a flood of tears.

"He's right, this is too much! Cut it out!" Zoro agreed, and the two tried to wrap their arms around Luffy's body and drag him off the prone body. Despite the swordsman's immense strength, the incensed boy didn't move an inch. The attack continued without wavering.

"AKAINU!"

"AKAINU!"

"AKAI – "

"LUFFY!"

Nami's voice rang out across the clearing. She had made her way to Luffy's side and wrapped her arms around his gloved hand, which had been stained red. For the first time, Luffy hesitated, and he turned his head to face Nami. Pure pain was etched across the girl's face, tears welling up in her eyes and snot running down her chin.

"You already saved me Luffy!" Nami pleaded between her sobs. "I'm safe! Don't do this, this isn't who you are!"

Something seemed to click in the boy's mind at this, but his eyes remained glazed over. "…Makino?" He finally managed to ask, his voice barely audible.

"No Luffy it's me, Nami," the girl replied. She fell to her knees and wrapped Luffy in a tight embrace. "It's Nami, Luffy. Everything is ok now, everything is ok now…" The girl rocked back in forth, her hands tightly clamped together around the boy's back. After a few minutes, she could feel his muscles begin to relax. After she waited a little bit longer to be safe, Nami pulled back a bit to look at Luffy. The cloudy haze had been lifted, and his piercing brown eyes stared back at her with confusion.

"Luffy? Is that you?" Nami questioned hopefully.

"Yeah," Luffy whispered in response. He paused for a moment, then continued. "I didn't hurt you, did I Nami?"

With that, Nami finally broke down into uncontrollable crying, and pulled the boy back into a hug even tighter than before. This time, Luffy returned the favor, and the two sat in each other's embrace.

Neither had any plans of moving.

* * *

Woohoo! How about that ending! I think you'll understand why I didn't go all the way through to the end of the Shells Town arc. It'd be pretty hard to include that hugely emotional, non-canon moment and then wrap it up with some basic goodbye-Coby stuff.

This should give you an idea of how I plan on testing Luffy against some of his weaker opponent's now that he's so overpowered. His mental strength has a long way to go to match his physical abilities.

Thanks for reading and please continue to follow, favorite and review. I've received so much positive engagement with this story in just over a week, and every bit of it is added inspiration for me to keep going! Definitely keep the comments and questions coming as well, I'm going to make the opening Q&A a weekly thing.

Next Time: The End of Shells Town, Some Training, and Orange Town!


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